In The News:
Pa. nurse previously charged with killing patients with lethal insulin doses linked to 17 nursing home deaths
A Pennsylvania nurse already charged with killing two patients in her care through lethal doses of insulin has been hit with fresh charges after she confessed to trying to kill 19 people at different rehabilitation centers where she worked, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Heather Pressdee, 41, allegedly administered excessive amounts of insulin to 19 patients — some of whom were diabetic and others not — at five different care facilities from 2020 to this year. Ultimately, 17 patients in her care have died, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said.
As a result, new charges were filed against her Thursday: two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person, in connection with the 19 patients she allegedly mistreated, Attorney General Michelle Henry said.
Prosecutors noted that Pressdee was charged with first-degree murder in cases where “physical evidence is available to support the cause of death,” and attempted murder in cases where the victims either survived the excessive dose of insulin or the cause of death could not be determined.
She had already been charged in May for allegedly mistreating three patients, two of whom died, bringing the total number of allegedly mistreated patients to 22.
Pressdee would typically administer the insulin during overnight shifts when there was low staffing and the emergencies “would not prompt immediate hospitalization,” prosecutors said.
“If Pressdee sensed the victim would ‘pull through’ there is a pattern of her taking additional measures to try to kill the victims before they could be sent to the hospital by either administering a second dose of insulin or the use of an air embolism to ensure death,” the criminal complaint in the case said.
The alleged victims ranged in age from 43 to 104.
The complaint said Pressdee, whose nursing license has been suspended, “admitted to harming, with the intent to kill, all patients named in this affidavit.”
The two first-degree murder charges are in connection with two patient deaths at Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Source: NBCnews.com
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