A former nurse at a Virginia hospital where at least seven newborns suffered mysterious injuries has been charged with malicious wounding and felony child abuse. Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 26, is charged in connection with a Nov. 10 incident involving one newborn. However, investigators are probing potential abuse against seven newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit of Henrico Doctors' Hospital in Richmond, at least some of whom suffered fractures, per CNN. Four babies were injured in the summer of 2023 before employees discovered three babies with fractures in late November and December of 2024, reads a Dec. 24 hospital statement, per USA Today.
One father claims his week-old son, who was born weighing just a few pounds, was "one of [Strotman's] first victims" in September 2023, per CNN. Dominique Hackey says he was told his child had a broken leg and feared he, a first-time parent, would be blamed. A hospital investigation concluded the boy likely suffered a broken tibia as the result of an injection, and the case was closed in January 2024, Hackey says. Nine months later, Hackey says Child Protective Services informed him his son had, in fact, been the victim of abuse. He says he later learned another newborn at the hospital suffered injuries months apart from his son.
"The investigation is ongoing and there could be more babies identified," Shannon Taylor, the commonwealth's attorney for Henrico County, tells CNN. County police said investigators reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance footage before Strotman was arrested and arraigned Friday. It's unclear if she entered a plea. She remained jailed Tuesday without bond. "We kindly request patience as our detectives work to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases," said Police Chief Eric D. English. The hospital, which has been assisting with the police investigation, said it was "shocked and saddened" by the arrest. (More child abuse stories.)
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