The father of a Virginia toddler who suffered mysterious fractures as a newborn in a Richmond hospital's neonatal intensive care unit says the motive is unclear, but all the victims had one thing in common.
They were all boys.
Dominic Huckey, whose young son Noah suffered an unexplained tibia fracture in September 2023, said they suffered from a variety of injuries and came from diverse families, with no other commonalities that the parents could identify. It is said that there was not.
“The injuries were all different and both boys had multiple injuries,” he told Fox News Digital. “So far, in our own conversations, I don't see any pattern as to why our baby was just a boy. Other than that.”
Virginia nurse arrested for mysterious attack on newborn baby after NICU closes
Erin Strotman is pictured in a mug shot taken on January 3, 2025. A registered nurse from Virginia is facing charges of child abuse and serious bodily injury in connection with an incident involving a newborn at a Richmond-area NICU. Investigations into six similar cases are ongoing. (Henrico County Sheriff's Office)
Dr. Henrico Hospital closed its NICU on Christmas Eve after officials announced they had launched an internal investigation into a series of “unexplained fractures” in neonatal patients. Three incidents occurred in the past two months and appear to be similar to four others in 2023.
Henrico police arrested 26-year-old registered nurse Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman on Friday on charges of aggravated assault and child abuse in one of the incidents. Police are investigating six more cases, including the Hackeys' case and three retrials that ended last year without charges being filed due to lack of evidence.
Reports circulated on social media that Strotman allegedly targeted children based on their race, but Hackie denied the allegations and said only two of his victims were black (FOX News Digital) told. Huckey said he has been in touch with all but one of the other victims' families. He also hopes to meet them.
The identities of the victims Strotman has previously been charged with assaulting remain sealed by the court due to medical and juvenile privacy rules. She is scheduled to appear in court again in March.
WATCH: Father reveals details of mysterious attack on newborn before NICU ward closes
Mr Hackie's son Noah was one of the 2023 victims, and until last month he believed his case was an isolated incident. Authorities were told she suspected child abuse, causing her son to fracture his tibia, but investigators didn't have enough evidence to file charges.
When the hospital announced it was closing its NICU on Christmas Eve, she said she received a news article from a friend and learned that the attack on her son wasn't the only incident. He then began speaking out publicly, raising awareness about his experience and the attack on his son, who was born at 28 weeks and 6 days old.
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Huckey said he remembers Strotman when the family was in the NICU, but he had little interaction with her. He remembers her as “lovely” but “insignificant.”
Noah was treated in the neonatal intensive care unit at a Virginia hospital, recovering from mysterious fractures that investigators said were caused by child abuse. (Courtesy of Dominic Huckey)
“It really didn't matter whether you were there all day or not there all day. This person still found a way to hurt our children,” he said. “That's the part that keeps me up at night. The first emotion my son experienced was pain, and that shouldn't happen. The first emotion he experienced was joy and laughter. It's supposed to be about making weird faces.'' And unfortunately that wasn't the case for my son and the other six boys. ”
Hackey said she recently learned that Strotman had been placed on paid leave at one point, and the evidence showed the hospital had suspected wrongdoing long before police announced her arrest last week. He said that it shows. Investigators have said little after confirming they believe the son's injuries were the result of severe child abuse.
One of Ms Hackie's twin sons is shown with an ankle brace after sustaining bizarre injuries, which investigators later said were caused by hospital staff in a twisted case of child abuse. It was considered a thing. (Courtesy of Dominic Huckey)
The hospital is cooperating with the investigation and has provided hundreds of hours of surveillance video to police.
“We are shocked and saddened by the developments in this investigation and will continue to care for our patients and provide support to our colleagues who have been deeply personally affected by this investigation,” the hospital said in a statement. I'm dedicated to doing that.”
Medical records show the Hackeys were injured a day earlier than they had been previously informed, he said. At the time of Noah's attack, the hospital had not yet installed surveillance cameras. Since then, 24-hour video surveillance and a means for parents to live-stream the neonatal unit have been introduced, and staff are not allowed in without a second clinician for safety reasons.
Noah Huckey, now 16 months old, has recovered from his injuries. (Courtesy of Dominic Huckey)
Police said they could not release much additional information about the case because of medical privacy laws. But they are asking anyone who has information that could help with further charges. contact a detective Police@henrico.gov, visit P3tips.com or call Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
“Knowing that she was placed on paid leave in connection with our case and that the hospital suspected her is all new information for all of us,” he said, adding that his family and he He talked about the other five people he was in contact with. and.
Micah and Noah Huckey are now 16 months old. Noah has recovered from his injuries and is now so active that his parents “can barely keep up,” his father told Fox News Digital. (Courtesy of Dominic Huckey)
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Hackey said he hired an attorney Monday.
He said the twins are now both happy and healthy and the family hopes to move on despite the traumatic experience.
“It's amazing that I went through two miscarriages and then gave birth to twins,” he told FOX News Digital. “And to have both of them here throughout the pregnancy and after the pregnancy after being told we might lose one of them is truly a blessing. It truly is a blessing. Anyone who has the privilege of becoming parents. There aren't many, but I've been blessed twice.'' Now that it's over, I'm going to do whatever I can to protect them. ”
