Virginia police have arrested a registered nurse in reference to a twisted assault that left a weak new child in a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit with an “unexplainable fracture” in November – and extra prices may come as detectives proceed to probe a half dozen related incidents.
The 26-year-old suspect, Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, was booked into the Henrico County Jail on prices of malicious wounding and youngster abuse that brought about critical harm round 1:15 a.m. Friday.
A perplexing string of accidents to infants within the NICU at Henrico Docs’ Hospital in Richmond in November and December prompted officers to launch an inside investigation and shut the unit to new sufferers on Christmas Eve.
Public information present Strotman’s registered nurse’s license was first issued in 2019 and is legitimate till Could 2026.
“In late November/December, we found that three infants in our Henrico Docs’ Hospital NICU had unexplainable fractures, just like an incident involving 4 infants in the summertime of 2023,” the hospital mentioned in an announcement.
Involved mother and father reported the accidents to Youngster Protecting Providers final yr.
“Lastly we will get some solutions as to who abused our son. I want I may say it was a cheerful second studying of her arrest, nevertheless, studying the main points involving the opposite infants, the one feeling I’ve is disappointment and remorse,” Dominique Hackey, the daddy of one of many victims, instructed Fox Information Digital Friday. “I’m heartbroken to be taught the diploma in what this individual was allowed to get away with, and remorse that I ought to’ve spoke up sooner in hopes to forestall different kids from getting damage. “
Hackey first went public along with his story to the native information station WTVR-TV final month, revealing the confusion surrounding one among his twin son’s accidents. He suffered a mysterious fracture to his tibia in September 2023. His mom, a former NICU nurse herself, reported the harm to social providers.
It wasn’t till a yr later that Henrico CPS instructed them it had concluded that their son was the sufferer of bodily abuse from an unnamed hospital staffer. Then in October, county police reportedly instructed them in regards to the different, related instances.
The hospital introduced its NICU shutdown on Dec. 24 after the three newest incidents, however even then the alleged assailant remained unknown till police introduced Strotman’s arrest Friday.
“Out of an abundance of warning, we’re not admitting any further infants into our NICU presently,” the hospital mentioned on Christmas Eve. “Whereas fractures sometimes occur with pre-term infants since they lack full fetal bone improvement, we’re actively working to find out how these fractures occurred.”
Whereas hospital officers mentioned beforehand that fractures can occur to untimely infants, they nonetheless elevated safety, put in new surveillance programs and notified police after the second sequence of assaults.
New security measures included coaching on basic security and methods to establish and report indicators of abuse, head-to-toe examinations of the sufferers by medical doctors, and an observer system the place every well being care supplier is accompanied by one other clinician at any time when they enter a child’s room, the hospital mentioned.
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Additionally they turned over hours of surveillance video to police, who had been nonetheless going via footage after arresting Strotman in reference to an incident that occurred on Nov. 10.
“We admire the households’ and public’s persistence as we work as completely and expeditiously as attainable to research every bit of proof in connection to those instances,” Henrico Chief of Police Eric English mentioned in an announcement. “I’d additionally prefer to acknowledge the unwavering efforts of our detectives who proceed to comb via a whole bunch of hours of footage and lengthen my honest gratitude to Henrico’s Youngster Protecting Providers (Division of Social Providers), the Henrico County Commonwealth Lawyer’s Workplace, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Division of Well being, and the Workplace of the Lawyer Basic for his or her help on this matter.”
Fees haven’t been filed in Hackey’s case, however police mentioned they’re actively accumulating proof in the entire remaining incidents.
Strotman is a resident of Midlothian, a suburb of Richmond, and authorities are her in reference to a lot of related instances between 2023 and 2024, Henrico police mentioned Friday – together with inactive instances.
“The entire beforehand closed instances associated to those incidents have been reopened,” police mentioned in an announcement. “The entire households concerned on this present broader investigation have been notified.”
Because of well being care privateness legal guidelines, authorities mentioned they might not launch many further particulars.
“We’re each shocked and saddened by this improvement within the investigation and are centered on persevering with to look after our sufferers and offering assist to our colleagues who’ve been deeply and personally impacted by this investigation,” HCA Healthcare, which owns the hospital, mentioned in an announcement.
With further prices attainable, police are asking anybody with data to contact detectives at police@henrico.gov, go to P3tips.com or name Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
Court docket information present Strotman’s prior run-ins with the regulation concerned solely minor visitors offenses.
She was scheduled for arraignment Friday morning on the Henrico Juvenile and Home Relations District Court docket.
As for the Hackey household, their son has since recovered from his fracture and is doing effectively.
“He’s a really adventurous little boy,” his father mentioned.
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