Pennsylvania nurse accused of killing 2 sufferers, injuring one other with insulin injections

A Pennsylvania nurse is accused of administering deadly doses of insulin to 2 sufferers, the state legal professional normal mentioned.

Heather Irene Pressdee, 40, of Natrona Heights, allegedly gave the sufferers “overdoses of insulin” whereas a registered nurse at High quality Life Providers, a talented nursing facility in Chicora, the Pennsylvania Workplace of Lawyer Normal mentioned in a information launch.

A legal grievance says she was employed on the facility from Might 23, 2022, to November 28, 2022.

One affected person died Dec. 4 and the opposite on Dec 25. They have been 55 and 83 years outdated, the workplace mentioned.

A 3rd affected person, a 73-year-old man, was given an unhealthy quantity of insulin on Aug. 31, 2022, however survived following emergency hospitalization, officers mentioned.

Two of the three sufferers weren’t diabetic. Their names haven’t been launched.

Pressdee was arrested at her residence Wednesday on murder, tried homicide, aggravated assault, neglect and reckless endangerment fees, in line with the state AG.

She was arraigned Wednesday evening and is being held on the Butler County Jail with out bail. It’s not clear if she has obtained an legal professional.

Lawyer Normal Michelle Henry said the nurse was speculated to take care of the sufferers however “deliberately and maliciously injected them with insulin to kill them.”

“The allegations on this case define the callous abuse of extremely susceptible sufferers by knowledgeable nurse,” Henry mentioned in a press release. “As the fees point out, these have been deliberate and intentional acts perpetrated by a caregiver who was trusted to take care of these victims.”

High quality Life Providers didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Friday.

Authorities launched an investigation after a sufferer’s relative alleged in a grievance that the nurse was concerned within the improper administration of insulin to sufferers beneath her care, in line with a legal grievance. All three victims have been transported to the hospital due to low blood sugar instantly after a shift during which Pressdee cared for them, it says.

One of many sufferers who died was nonverbal, in line with the grievance, which recognized him as J.B. He was taken to the hospital in October 2022, and a medical crew decided he had critically low blood sugar, it says. He was handled and despatched again to the power.

On Nov. 20, 2022, J.B. was once more hospitalized for low blood sugar and died two weeks later. A nurse on the facility instructed authorities that Pressdee allegedly mentioned J.B. could be “higher off useless,” the grievance says.

The opposite sufferer who died, recognized within the grievance as J.C., was a hospice affected person and suitemate of J.B. He was taken to the hospital 10 minutes after J.B.’s November hospitalization, in line with the grievance. J.C.’s household opted to have him transferred again to the power, the place he died on Christmas Day, in line with the grievance.

The third sufferer, recognized as E.A., was discovered seizing in his mattress shortly after receiving care from Pressdee, the grievance states. He was taken to the hospital and despatched to a different facility.

Pressdee instructed investigators that E.A. was in Covid isolation and had requested her to “kill him,” in line with the grievance. She allegedly mentioned she eliminated insulin from the treatment cart and gave him one syringe in his abdomen.

“She acknowledged that he started exhibiting signs and that she didn’t deal with the signs, and the oncoming shift despatched him to the hospital,” it says.

When requested concerning the different two victims, Pressdee allegedly mentioned their high quality of life was not good, the grievance says. She is accused of injecting every of them with 60 items of short-acting insulin.