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Join Telegram ChannelTwo parents entrusted the lives of their twin boys to a “trusted family friend” who allegedly killed one of the boys and abused the other, prosecutors say.
Nicole Virzi, fifth year doctoral student. student specializing in research into the effects of depression on human behavior, babysat 6-week-old twins Leon and Ari Katz on June 16.
It was the day Léon died. Virzi said he fell off her lounge chair after she woke up from a nap and went to get a bottle.
But doctors who examined the baby's injuries found a skull fracture on the left side of the head and several brain hemorrhages “that may be the result of child abuse,” WTAE reported.
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Nicole Virzi, 29, was charged with homicide, three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of child endangerment. She pleaded not guilty. (Allegheny County Jail)
Virzi, 29, was arrested by police near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was babysitting, and charged with homicide, three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of child endangerment.
There were also signs of abuse on the other baby, according to prosecutors.
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She has pleaded not guilty and maintains her innocence, said her lawyer, David Shrager.
“There are extremely disturbing allegations,” Shrager told Fox News Digital, “and she denies any intentional behavior.”
Ethan and Savannah Katz hold their twins before one of them is killed by a family friend. (GoFundMe)
Virzi is the daughter of a respected Manhattan cardiologist and was just steps away from the finish line to earn her doctorate, according to Shrager.
She has no criminal history, is supported by “a loving and supportive family” and is a “close friend of the deceased child's parents and has a long relationship with them,” he said.
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Just three days before the alleged homicide, Virzi discussed his new research paper in a video on the Heart and Mind Journal Office's X page, which has since been deleted.
The Heart and Mind Journal office could not be reached for comment.
The medical examination of baby Léon by doctors details worrying injuries.
Screenshot from Nicole Virzi's biography as a doctoral student. student at the San Diego State University-UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology website. (San Diego State University-UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology)
“The injuries sustained by both (twins) are consistent with injuries sustained as a result of child abuse, as these are inflicted injuries that are neither natural nor accidental,” a doctor told detectives, according to a report from WTAE, based on the criminal complaint.
The baby's death has been ruled a homicide. Virzi is currently being held in the Allegheny County Jail in Pennsylvania.
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“Leon Katz, a beautiful, healthy six-week-old baby boy, was tragically killed in horrific circumstances,” according to a GoFundMe set up on behalf of his parents, Savannah and Ethan Katz.
“Leon will always be remembered as a happy, smiling, goofy little boy. His untimely and tragic death deeply impacted the Pittsburgh community, occurring on Ethan's first Father's Day.”
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Screenshot from Nicole Virzi's biography as a doctoral student. student. (San Diego State University-UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology)
Virzi wrote in his biography on the San Diego State University/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology website that his research “aims to explore the complex interplay between psychological factors – such as depression, stress, negative effects and trauma – and the critical factors. health outcomes and behaviors – such as metabolic syndrome, heart disease, obesity, eating behavior and exercise. »
“I am particularly interested in exploring these relationships within female and trauma-exposed populations,” Virzi wrote in her biography.
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“By focusing on these relationships, my research aims to shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities for intervention among these vulnerable groups.”