[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Prepare yourselves for a sickening story, Perezcious readers. A California PhD student has been accused of killing her friend’s newborn baby and assaulting his twin brother while she was babysitting at the parents’ home in Pittsburgh.
According to WTAE, 29-year-old Nicole Vitzi was charged with homicide, aggravated assault, and endangering the welfare of children. Police claim she is responsible for the severe skull fracture that killed six-and-a-half-week-old Leon Katz and the abuse of his twin brother after finding scratches and bruises on his face, belly, and genitals last weekend.
In a criminal complaint obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune, Vitzi was visiting with the twins’ family last Saturday when she discovered blood in the diapers of Leon’s brother. The parents told law enforcement that the college student was alone with the little one just before she informed them of the injury. They quickly rushed the baby to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and left Leon alone with Nicole.
Related: Bombshell New Bryan Kohberger Book Points To True Target Of Idaho Murders!
The complaint stated that Vitzi told police that she kept Leon in a bouncy seat while the parents were at the hospital and would occasionally change, burp, and feed him throughout the night. The suspect said she went into the kitchen to get a bottle for the newborn an hour before midnight, but she did not strap him into the chair at the time. While in the other room, Vitzi heard the baby screaming. When she rushed back into the room, she told cops she found Leon on the ground with a “large bump on his head.”
Per the documents, Vitzi called 911 around 11:15 p.m. to report Leon fell out of the bouncer seat and bumped his head. She told dispatchers he was awake but struggling to breathe. After paramedics arrived at the scene, they took Leon to the hospital. Sadly, he did not make it. Heartbreaking.
Here is where things get super twisted. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that a CT scan later determined Leon suffered a skull fracture and multiple brain bleeds. A doctor also informed the authorities that the injuries Leon and his twin brother suffered were not “accidental” whatsoever! Per WTAE, the complaint said:
“The injuries sustained by both (twins are) consistent with having been sustained as a result of child abuse, as these are inflicted injuries that are not natural and not accidental.”
OMG…
Law enforcement said Virzi was unable to provide a “plausible explanation” for the injuries the kids suffered. Meanwhile, both parents denied any wrongdoing and told the police they never saw how the injuries happened to their son. As a result, police arrested Virzi for the murder of Leon and the assault of his twin brother. She pleaded not guilty on Monday. Her attorney, David Shrager, also denied the allegations in a statement to WTAE on Tuesday:
“Our client maintains her innocence. Our client has no criminal history whatsoever. Our client denies these allegations. She is a loving person and a friend to these people and would never harm anyone’s child, let alone theirs.”
Virzi is currently being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 28.
[Image via Allegheny County Jail]
