Some people in this world are pure evil, and, unfortunately, some of those people have access to human beings who are at their most vulnerable — namely, infants.
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A now-former nurse at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Central Virginia has been charged with malicious wounding and child abuse following an investigation of newborn babies who suffered from “unexplainable fractures.” The nurse, 26-year-old Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman of Chesterfield County, stands accused of causing these injuries to at least one Black child, but it’s possible at least seven more suffered the same injuries.
According to ABC 8 News, three babies at the hospital were discovered with “unexplainable fractures” in late November and December of 2024, and their cases resembled that of four infants at the hospital who suffered similar injuries in 2023. So far, Strotman, who was arraigned and held without bond Friday, has only been charged in connection with one of the children.
From ABC:
An investigation by Henrico County’s Child Protective Services, the Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Health and the Office of the Attorney General has been underway in relation to these incidents.
When asked following the arraignment whether all seven babies in the investigation are currently alive, Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor said officials were continuing to investigate, and could not yet confirm their health status.
“The maximum statutory penalty for felony child neglect is 10 years of incarceration and the maximum statutory penalty for felony malicious wounding is 20 years of incarceration,” Taylor said.
Taylor also suggested that Strotman’s arrest was only the beginning, and she assured the public that the investigation is still ongoing, that the injuries suffered by the other children will be addressed, and that others might be joining Strotman as defendants in the case.
While there has been an arrest for one person for allegedly inflicting injury on a single victim, I would emphasize this is an ongoing investigation spanning potential offenses committed in both 2023 and 2024,” she said. “I assure the public that the investigation of these matters will be thorough and, if sufficient evidence arises to establish the criminal culpability of other individuals, additional charges will be brought forthwith without fear of or favor to any party.”
Friday’s arraignment was attended by the families of all seven babies injured at the hospital. Several family members reportedly left the courtroom in tears.
“I’m overwhelmed with emotions. I can’t put my hand on just one. I couldn’t help but to just to break down,” Dominique Hackey, the Black father of one of the babies who no one has been charged for injuring yet, told WTVR 6. “For that father and that mother (of the child Strotman is charged for), I felt how I felt when I learned that my son had a fracture. That was helpless.”
Hackey said he recalled meeting Strotman towards the end of his twins’ stay in the NICU in 2023, but he said he hadn’t been acquainted with her for long.
“I remember her being in the room, she was friendly, she answered questions, but she didn’t stay and talk like the other NICU nurses did. She wasn’t family like the other NICU nurses,” he said.
Strotman is due back in court at 2 p.m. on March 24. In the meantime, she was ordered by the judge to have no contact with any children under 18.
