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Pennsylvania nurse admitted to three counts of murder and 19 counts of attempted murder
A nurse in the US, who deliberately administered fatal doses of insulin to multiple patients over a three-year period, was handed a 380-760 year prison sentence.
The court heard that she caused the deaths of at least 17 patients across five healthcare facilities between 2020 and 2023.
Heather Pressdee, aged 41 and working as a nurse in Pennsylvania, confessed to three murder charges and 19 attempted murder charges. She was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Pressdee was accused of administering excessive insulin to 22 patients, including non-diabetic individuals, during overnight shifts with few staff present. Many of these patients died shortly after the injections or later. The victims ranged in age from 43 to 104 years old.
An overdose of insulin can induce hypoglycemia, elevate heart rate and potentially cause heart attacks. Initially arrested in May of the previous year for the deaths of two patients, subsequent police investigations led to additional charges against her.
Families of the victims testified that the nurse "played God" with their vulnerable and elderly loved ones who were not prepared to die. Former colleagues had previously raised concerns about her behavior, citing her disdain for patients and frequent derogatory remarks about them.
In text exchanges with her mother, Pressdee expressed dissatisfaction with patients, coworkers, and even individuals she encountered at restaurants. She frequently voiced desires to cause harm to them.
During the court proceedings, she pleaded guilty. When asked by her lawyer why she was pleading guilty, Pressdee responded, “Because I am guilty.”
“She is not mentally ill. She is not insane. She represents pure evil. I saw the face of Satan himself the morning she took my father's life,” remarked a family member of one of the victims in court.
Despite facing disciplinary action for her conduct, she held various nursing positions in care homes from 2018 until her licence was suspended in 2023 following initial charges.
Pressdee is among several healthcare workers convicted of murdering patients. Charles Cullen, for instance, was responsible for the deaths of at least 29 nursing home patients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania by administering lethal doses of insulin.
Another example is William Davis, a Texas nurse who injected air into the arteries of four post-heart surgery patients.
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