A Pennsylvania nurse who administered deadly or doubtlessly deadly doses of insulin to quite a few sufferers pleaded responsible to a few counts of homicide and different fees Thursday and was sentenced to life in jail.
Heather Pressdee, 41, acquired three consecutive life sentences and one other consecutive sentence of 380 to 760 years behind bars throughout a listening to in Butler, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. She performed a task within the deaths of not less than 17 sufferers residing at 5 well being care services in 4 counties between 2020 and 2023, prosecutors stated.
The victims ranged in age from 43 to 104 years previous. Coworkers typically questioned Pressdee’s habits and stated she regularly confirmed disdain for her sufferers and made derogatory feedback about them, authorities stated.
Pressdee pleaded responsible to a few counts of first-degree homicide and 19 counts of tried homicide. She was initially charged in Could 2023 with killing two nursing dwelling sufferers and injuring a 3rd. An additional investigation led to dozens extra fees in opposition to her.
Throughout a listening to in February through which he argued along with his attorneys, he indicated that he wished to plead responsible.
The plea listening to was anticipated to final till Friday as a result of a number of individuals wished to present sufferer impression statements, officers stated.
Prosecutors alleged that Pressdee, of Harrison, administered extreme quantities of insulin to sufferers, some diabetic and a few not. He usually administered insulin throughout evening shifts, when employees had been brief and emergencies didn’t end in speedy hospitalization.
Her nursing license was suspended early final 12 months, shortly after the preliminary fees had been filed.
In response to court docket paperwork, Pressdee despatched textual content messages to his mom between April 2022 and Could 2023 through which he mentioned his unhappiness with varied sufferers and colleagues, and mentioned potential hurt. She additionally expressed comparable complaints about individuals she encountered in eating places and different locations.
Pressdee had a historical past of being “disciplined for abusive habits towards sufferers and/or employees at every facility, leading to her resignation or termination,” prosecutors stated in court docket paperwork.
Starting in 2018, Pressdee held varied jobs at nursing houses and services in western Pennsylvania for brief durations, in line with the paperwork.
