A doctoral student charged with killing a friend’s newborn baby while babysitting in Pennsylvania and abusing her twin brother could face the death penalty if convicted, and prosecutors have said they plan to seek capital punishment.
Nicole Virge, 30, is charged with murder, aggravated assault and child endangerment for allegedly abusing and killing 6-week-old Leon Katz on June 16 while his parents, Ethan Katz and his wife, Savannah Roberts, were taking the baby’s twin brother, Ali, to the hospital.
Virgi was later accused of abusing Ali.
The Allegany District Attorney’s Office indicated in court Friday that it intends to seek the death penalty against Virge. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Reported.
Depression PhD student charged with murdering friend’s infant while babysitting twins
Nicole Virge, 30, is charged with murder, aggravated assault and child endangerment. (Allegheny County Jail)
According to the media, prosecutors have filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Virgi, citing multiple counts of abuse and torture to death for his alleged involvement in the baby’s death.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has said he will not sign any death warrants while in office.
Virgi claimed he fell out of his bouncer chair when Leon left him alone for a moment to get a bottle.
But doctors determined the twins’ injuries were “not natural or accidental and consistent with those sustained as a result of child abuse,” according to the criminal complaint. Reported by WTAE.
Leon’s death was ruled a homicide.
The coroner determined Leon’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, and a head CT scan revealed the boy had suffered a severe skull fracture on the left side of his head and multiple cerebral bleeds.
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Ethan Katz and Savannah Roberts hold their twin sons, one of whom was allegedly murdered by a family friend. (GoFundMe)
A GoFundMe page set up to support the family after the baby’s death describes Virgi as a “trusted family friend.”
Virgi, a clinical psychology student at the University of California, San Diego, who studied the effects of depression on human behavior, is originally from California but was staying at an Airbnb near Pittsburgh when her child was killed.
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Screenshot of doctoral student Nicole Virge’s biography on the San Diego State University/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology website. (San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology)
Her lawyer, David Schrager, said his client maintains her innocence. She maintains her innocence.
Schrager previously told Fox News Digital that she has no criminal history, has a “loving and supportive family” and is “close friends with the parents of the child who died and has known them for a long time.”
Fox News’ Chris Eberhart contributed to this report.
