Psychology Ph.D. student who killed friend’s newborn said she had a years-long compulsion to hurt children
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. (TCN) — A 32-year-old woman has been sentenced to 35 to 80 years behind bars after pleading guilty to killing her best friend’s 6-week-old son in 2024.
People reports Nicole Virzi, a clinical psychology student in a California Ph.D. program, was visiting her best friends, Savannah Roberts and Ethan Katz, in Pennsylvania in June 2024. The couple had newborn twins, Leon and Ari. Roberts said Virzi repeatedly asked if she could babysit the infants, but they declined her offers.
On June 15, 2024, Virzi showed the couple that Ari had bruising and scratches on his lower body. She offered to watch Leon while the couple took Ari to the hospital. At about 11:17 p.m., she called 911 and told them Leon was having a hard time breathing and had a lump on his head, People reports. The baby was pronounced dead the next day after suffering several skull fractures. It was also later determined that Virzi had caused the bruising and scratches on Ari.
Virzi admitted to the police that she shook Leon and dropped him on the tile floor, People reports. She said, “Something just came over me I couldn’t control. … I’m telling you this because I can’t keep lying about it.” She said she had had a compulsive urge to hurt children for many years.
Virzi was charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault with attempts to cause serious bodily injury, aggravated assault — victim less than 13, aggravated assault — victim less than 5, and two counts of endangering the welfare of children,according to court documents obtained by True Crime News.
On Aug. 24, 2024, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office filed the notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Virzi, per court docs.
People reports Virzi pleaded guilty Oct. 28 to third-degree murder, aggravated assault, and endangering the welfare of children, and was sentenced to 35 to 80 years in prison, avoiding the death penalty.
The district attorney’s office said in a statement, “This was a horrific case in which Virzi used her trusted relationship with the Roberts/Katz family to place herself in a situation where she could commit her horrendous acts,” WTAE reports. “Throughout the criminal justice process,, the Roberts/Katz family has continued to endure crushing emotional pain and grief.”
In her victim impact statement, Roberts said that as her son was dying, she cradled him for hours and told him how much she loved him, People reports. She said that with every milestone his twin brother, Ari, celebrates, she is reminded of the son she lost.
Leon’s grandfather Larry Katz said, “I never got to see Leon smile … but I’m sure it would have lit up my world, just as his brother’s did.”
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