A glamorous PhD student faces execution if convicted of murdering her friend’s six-week-old son while she was babysitting him, prosecutors say.
Nicole Virzi, 29, has been charged with murdering six-and-a-half-week-old Leon Katz while she was caring for him at the family’s Pittsburgh home in June.
Police allege she is responsible for causing a skull fracture and several brain hemorrhages detected by a CT scan. She is also accused of injuring Leon’s twin brother, Ari, who survived.
Court documents obtained by WPIX shows that the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty against Virzi.
The statement, which sets out the reasons for seeking the death penalty, says: “The defendant committed the murder while committing a serious crime. The crime was committed by means of torture.”
Nicole Virzi (pictured), 29, has been charged with murdering six-and-a-half-week-old Leon Katz and injuring his twin brother.
Police allege she is responsible for causing a fracture to Leon’s skull (pictured) and several haemorrhages in the brain detected by a CT scan.
Leon’s alleged killer was a “trusted friend” of the babies’ parents, Ethan Katz and Savannah Roberts. (pictured: baby Leon just after his birth in May 2024)
‘The defendant has a significant criminal history involving the use or threat of violence against a person. The victim was a child under the age of 12.’
No further details of these prior convictions were released. A check of Virzi’s public records revealed only details of the charges he faces for Leon’s murder.
Virzi was a “trusted friend” of the babies’ parents, Ethan Katz and Savannah Roberts, who cared for the twins during their college breaks.
His father, Peter J Virzi, is a prominent cardiologist affiliated with Mt. Sinai Doctors in Manhattan and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
The accused killer continued to care for little Leon while his parents were at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh with his twin brother, Ari, after Virzi said she saw an injury to his groin area, police said.
She told police she had gone into the kitchen to get a bottle for the baby when she suddenly heard screaming.
When she returned, she said the baby had fallen out of the swing. So she called 911.
“The injuries sustained by both (the twins) are consistent with having been caused as a result of child abuse, as they are inflicted injuries that are not natural or accidental,” a doctor told investigators, according to court documents.
Virzi was a “trusted friend” of the babies’ parents, Ethan Katz and Savannah Roberts (pictured), who was caring for the twins during their college break.
Pennsylvania prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Virzi, who has denied any wrongdoing.
Photographs taken just days before the tragedy showed the bright-eyed twins standing side by side in pajamas with their names embroidered on them.
The suspect’s father has been identified as Peter J Virzi, a prominent cardiologist affiliated with Mt. Sinai Doctors in Manhattan.
Virzi has denied any wrongdoing and her lawyer maintains her innocence. She is charged with murder, child endangerment and aggravated assault.
Police have yet to reveal the motive for this horrific crime.
A video posted days before the PhD student allegedly killed her friend’s baby shows her talking about a paper she wrote about depression in women.
In the video shared by the academic journal Heart and Mind on June 13, Virzi wears a white blazer and is eloquent as she delves into how somatic symptoms of depression in women can lead to heart disease risks.
A GoFundMe page set up for the devastated couple says Leon was “tragically murdered under horrific circumstances” and that a “trusted family friend” has been arrested.
“Leon will always be remembered as a happy, smiling, fun-loving boy. His untimely and tragic death has deeply affected the Pittsburgh community,” the donation page said.
Photographs taken just days before the tragedy showed the bright-eyed twins standing side by side in pajamas with their names embroidered on them.
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