Pennsylvania Nurse Catches New Charges In Connection With 22 Nursing Home Deaths
A nurse who was charged earlier this year in May for mistreating several patients in her care has now been hit with additional charges for accusations of being responsible for more than a dozen deaths.
According to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, Heather Pressdee, 41, added charges involve homicide and attempted murder for her nursing home patients. She was accused of allegedly administering lethal doses of insulin to multiple patients at different care facilities. In May, she was charged for her mistreatment of three patients. A press release stated that additional charges were added on Nov. 2, after it was recently discovered that she did the same with 19 more patients at five different care facilities between 2020 and this year.
“The allegations against Ms. Pressdee are disturbing. It is hard to comprehend how a nurse, trusted to care for her patients, could choose to deliberately and systematically harm them,” said the prosecutor in a written statement.
“The damage done to the victims and their loved ones cannot be overstated. Every person in a medical or care facility should feel safe and cared for, and my office will work tirelessly to hold the defendant accountable for her crimes and protect care-dependent Pennsylvanians from future harm.”
In total, Pressdee was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder, and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person. She has been in custody at Butler County Prison without bail. She is charged with first-degree murder in cases where physical evidence is available to support the cause of death. Attempted murder charges are for the patients who survived and the victims whose cause of death could not be determined.
The patients ranged in age from 43 to 104. Some of the victims who received excessive amounts of insulin from Pressdee were diabetic and required insulin, and the others were not. 17 patients died in her care.
The crimes that she is accused of took place at the following facilities: Concordia at Rebecca Residence; Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation (Guardian); Quality Life Services Chicora; Premier Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center; and Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
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