A Pennsylvania nurse was given a life sentence after entering a guilty plea to three counts of murder and other offenses on Thursday. The nurse gave multiple patients insulin doses that were either fatal or potentially fatal.
At a hearing in Butler, approximately 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Pittsburgh, Heather Pressdee, 41, was sentenced to three consecutive life terms and an additional consecutive term of 380–760 years in prison.
Prosecutors claimed that she was involved in the deaths of at least 17 patients who resided in five healthcare facilities spread across four counties between 2020 and 2023.
The victims were between 43 and 104 years old. Authorities claimed that Pressdee’s behavior was routinely questioned by coworkers, who indicated that she frequently made disparaging remarks about her patients and displayed contempt for them.
Pressdee entered a guilty plea to 19 charges of attempted murder and three counts of first-degree murder. She was first accused with killing two nursing home residents and hurting a third in May 2023.
Numerous more charges against her were brought about by further research. She expressed a desire to enter a guilty plea during a February hearing where she and her attorneys exchanged heated words.
Because so many people wished to provide victim impact statements, the plea hearing was anticipated to continue until Friday, according to officials.
The Harrison resident Pressdee, according to the prosecution, overpreserved insulin dosages for both non-diabetic and diabetic patients. She usually gave the insulin during the night shift, when there was less staff and the patients wouldn’t need to be admitted right away.
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Soon after the first charges were brought, early in the previous year, her nursing license was suspended.
Court records state that between April 2022 and May 2023, Pressdee texted her mother about her dissatisfaction with a number of patients and coworkers, even discussing the possibility of hurting them. She also spoke about the same people she saw in restaurants and other settings.
According to court documents from the prosecution, Pressdee has a history of being “disciplined for abusive behavior towards patients and/or staff at each facility resulting in her resigning or being terminated.”
According to the filings, Pressdee worked for brief periods of time at many nursing homes and facilities in western Pennsylvania starting in 2018.
