The Pennsylvania Attorney General has accused a nurse of giving lethal doses of insulin to two patients.
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Initial Details
Heather Irene Pressdee, aged 40, from Natrona Heights, is accused of giving too much insulin to patients while she was working as a registered nurse at Quality Life Services, a skilled nursing facility in Chicora, according to the news release from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
She was employed at the facility from May 23, 2022, to November 28, 2022, according to a criminal complaint.
Two patients passed away, one on December 4th and the other on December 25th. The first patient was 55 years old, and the second was 83 years old, according to the office.
A 73-year-old man was given a dangerously high dose of insulin on August 31st, 2022, but was able to survive after being hospitalized in an emergency.
Two of the three patients were not diabetic. Their identities have not been revealed.
On Wednesday, Pressdee was arrested at her home on charges of homicide, attempted murder, aggravated assault, neglect and reckless endangerment, according to the state Attorney General.
On Wednesday night, she was brought before a court, and is currently detained in Butler County Prison without bail. It is not known if she has a lawyer.
Attorney General Michelle Henry stated that the nurse was supposed to care for the patients but “intentionally and maliciously injected them with insulin to kill them.”
“The allegations in this case outline the callous abuse of incredibly vulnerable patients by a professional nurse,” Henry shared in a statement. “As the charges indicate, these were deliberate and intentional acts perpetrated by a caregiver who was trusted to care for these victims.”
Further Explanations
Quality Life Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Authorities began an investigation after a relative of one of the victims made a complaint claiming that a nurse had administered insulin improperly to those under her care. All three victims had to be taken to the hospital due to low blood sugar shortly after a shift where Pressdee had been caring for them.
One of the patients who died was nonverbal, according to the complaint, which identified him as J.B. He was taken to the hospital in October 2022, and a medical team determined he had critically low blood sugar, it says. He was treated and sent back to the facility.
Pressdee informed investigators that E.A. was in quarantine due to Covid-19 and had asked her to ‘kill him.’ The complaint states that she removed insulin from the medication cart and administered one syringe to him in his stomach.
“She stated that he began showing symptoms and that she did not address the symptoms, and the oncoming shift sent him to the hospital,” the statement says.
Pressdee was reportedly asked about the other two victims and she allegedly responded that their quality of life was not good. According to the complaint, she is accused of administering 60 units of short-acting insulin to each of them.
Pressdee has a history of being disciplined for mistreating patients or personnel in other locations. He either left voluntarily or was fired from these places.