Woman faces death penalty after allegedly killing friend's baby

Warning: This article contains a discussion of child abuse that some readers may find disturbing.

A California woman accused of killing a six-week-old baby faces the death penalty if convicted.

Nicole Virzi of San Diego watched Leon Katz while his parents, Ethan Katz and his wife, Savannah Roberts, took Leon's twin brother to the hospital on June 16.

Virzi claimed that Leon was sitting in a baby bouncer when she left him briefly to get a bottle, and he fell out of the chair when she wasn't looking.

Nicole Virzi, 30, was charged with murder. (Allegheny County Jail)

However, a criminal complaint cited by WTAE states that doctors found injuries “consistent with child abuse.”

The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head. A CT scan revealed a severe skull fracture on the left side of his head and multiple brain hemorrhages.

“These are inflicted injuries that are neither natural nor accidental,” the doctors explained.

Doctors' comments also referred to the injuries sustained by Leon's brother Ari, who was hospitalized for a genital injury after being in Virzi's care earlier in the day.

Virzi, 30, was charged with manslaughter, aggravated assault and endangering a child. In July, she waived her right to a hearing because she was friends with the child's parents.

Virzi pleaded not guilty. (GoFundMe)

Her lawyer, David Shrager, said: “They are her friends. When we analyzed the whole situation, she didn't want to put them through that and didn't want to have to hear everything. That was her decision and we respect that.”

Shrager also described Virzi as “devastated” in his July speech.

“If there was anything she wanted to express, it would be the absolutely horrific pain she feels,” Shrager said. “These were her close friends.”

The case continued in court on Friday (August 23), when the Alleghany County District Attorney's Office announced it would seek the death penalty for Virzi.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has stated that he will not sign any death sentences during his term in office. There are currently no women on death row in Pennsylvania.

Virzi studied clinical psychology in San Diego and specialized in researching the effects of depression on human behavior. However, she was living in an Airbnb in the Pittsburgh area when Leon died. She has pleaded not guilty.

If you are affected by any of these issues and would like to speak to someone confidentially about a child's welfare, you can call Childhelp USA's National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and accepts calls from throughout the United States, Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Photo credit: Allegheny County Jail / GoFundMe

Topics: California, Crime, US News