Virginia NICU nurse charged with felony child abuse after newborn babies suffer suspicious fractures

A former neonatal intensive care unit nurse at a Virginia hospital has been charged in connection to mysterious injuries that a newborn baby suffered. Officials warned that several babies suffered suspicious injuries at the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

On Thursday, 26-year-old Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, of Chesterfield County, Virginia, was arrested and charged with malicious wounding and felony child abuse. If convicted, Strotman faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the felony child neglect charge and 20 years for the malicious wounding charge, according to Shannon Taylor — Henrico County Commonwealth’s attorney.

‘They failed strictly on multiple levels with multiple different families.’

The Henrico County Police Division said in a statement that it is “utilizing all available resources to ensure a thorough investigation into this matter,” including “reviewing dozens of videos from inside the NICU.”

Police are investigating an alleged incident that occurred at the NICU of the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond on Nov. 10. Authorities did not reveal the name of the alleged victim or the nature of the injury.

However, officials said there could be numerous victims.

The Henrico Doctors’ Hospital said in a statement, “There has been an ongoing investigation into fractures sustained by patients in our NICU.”

The hospital stressed that the individual arrested is a “former employee.”

“We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally impacted by this investigation,” the hospital’s statement read. “We are grateful to those colleagues, who have dedicated their professional lives to the care and safety of our patients, as well as to law enforcement and the other agencies who have worked aggressively and tirelessly with us on this investigation.”

Strotman was being detained at the Henrico County Regional Jail West and being held without bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on March 24.

Despite Strotman being charged in only one case, the Henrico County Police Division noted that “detectives are re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of this broader investigation.”

The New York Times reported that an investigation was launched after three babies were discovered with “unexplained fractures” in the newborn care unit of Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in late November and December of last year.

Citing the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, Law & Crime reported that similar incidents occurred in 2023 involving four babies.

One of the babies who allegedly suffered a suspicious injury in 2023 was Noah Hackey. The newborn’s father, Dominique Hackey, told WTVTR-TV that Noah and his twin, Micah, were born prematurely at the hospital in August 2023 and spent time together in the NICU.

Hackey explained to the outlet that Noah had discoloration in his left leg at around two weeks old, which an X-ray determined to be a tibia fracture.

The family filed a report with Child Protective Services.

Child Protective Services said in a letter that Noah suffered level 1 physical abuse “by an employee of the Henrico Doctor’s Hospital NICU.”

Level 1 physical abuse includes “those injuries/conditions, real or threatened, that result in or were likely to have resulted in serious harm to a child.”

Hackey declared, “They failed strictly on multiple levels with multiple different families, and they need to be held accountable as well because that shouldn’t have happened. If they were suspicious of some person enough to let them go, they shouldn’t have brought them back. They failed, simple as that.”

Henrico Police Chief Eric D. English said, “We appreciate the families’ and public’s patience as we work as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases. I would also like to acknowledge the unwavering efforts of our detectives who continue to comb through hundreds of hours of footage and extend my sincere gratitude to Henrico’s Child Protective Services (Department of Social Services), the Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Health, and the Office of the Attorney General for their assistance in this matter.”

Anyone with information about possible incidents related to the case are urged to contact Henrico Police Detective M. Lynch at [email protected] or submit tips anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.

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