WPBN: As detectives continue to look into six similar incidents, Virginia police have arrested a registered nurse in connection with a twisted attack that left a vulnerable newborn in a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit with a “unexplainable fracture” in November. More charges may follow.
Around 1:15 a.m. on Friday, Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 26, was arrested and sent to the Henrico County Jail on suspicion of malicious wounding and child abuse that resulted in serious damage.
Officials at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond closed the NICU to new patients on Christmas Eve after an inexplicable series of injuries to infants in the unit occurred in November and December. This was followed by an internal review.
According to public records, Strotman’s license as a registered nurse was initially granted in 2019 and is good until May 2026.
“In late November/December, we discovered that three babies in our Henrico Doctors’ Hospital NICU had unexplainable fractures, similar to an incident involving four babies in the summer of 2023,” the hospital stated in a statement.
Last year, worried parents informed Child Protective Services about the injuries.
“Finally we can get some answers as to who abused our son. I wish I could say it was a happy moment learning of her arrest, however, learning the details involving the other babies, the only feeling I have is sadness and regret,” Dominique Hackey, the father of one of the victims, stated on Friday. “I am heartbroken to learn the degree in what this person was allowed to get away with, and regret that I should’ve spoke up sooner in hopes to prevent other children from getting hurt. ”
Last month, Hackey initially shared his story with the local television station WTVR-TV, exposing the misunderstanding around one of his twin sons’ injuries. In September 2023, he sustained an unexplained tibia fracture. His mother, a former NICU nurse, informed social services about the damage.
Henrico CPS didn’t inform them that it had determined their son had been physically abused by an unidentified hospital employee until a year later. They were then allegedly informed about the other, comparable cases by the county police in October.
After the three most recent attacks, the hospital said that its NICU will be closed on December 24. However, the identity of the alleged attacker was still unknown until Friday, when police confirmed Strotman’s arrest.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are not admitting any additional babies into our NICU at this time,” the hospital stated on Christmas Eve. “While fractures occasionally happen with pre-term babies since they lack full fetal bone development, we are actively working to determine how these fractures occurred.”
Despite their earlier claims that premature babies may sustain fractures, hospital administrators stepped up security, installed new monitoring equipment, and alerted law enforcement following the second round of attacks.
According to the hospital, the new safety measures included head-to-toe checks of the patients by doctors, training on general safety and how to spot and report indicators of abuse, and an observer system that requires each healthcare practitioner to be accompanied by another clinician anytime they enter a baby’s room.
Additionally, they gave police hours of surveillance tape, which they were still reviewing after Strotman was taken into custody in relation to an incident that occurred on November 10.
“We appreciate the families’ and public’s patience as we work as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases,” Henrico Chief of Police Eric English stated. “I would also like to acknowledge the unwavering efforts of our detectives who continue to comb through hundreds of hours of footage and extend my sincere gratitude to Henrico’s Child Protective Services (Department of Social Services), the Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Health, and the Office of the Attorney General for their assistance in this matter.”
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Police said they are actively gathering evidence in all of the other incidents, but they have not yet filed charges in Hackey’s case.
According to Henrico police on Friday, Strotman, who lives in the Richmond suburb of Midlothian, is being investigated by authorities in relation to several incidents that are similar to hers from 2023 to 2024, including cases that are still pending.
Authorities claimed they were unable to disclose many more specifics because of health care privacy rules.
“We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally impacted by this investigation,” HCA Healthcare, which owns the hospital, stated.
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Police are requesting anybody with information to call Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000, visit P3tips.com, or email investigators at [email protected], as further charges may be brought against them.
According to court documents, Strotman had only minor driving infractions in his previous run-ins with the law.
Her arraignment at the Henrico Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court was set for Friday morning. The Hackey family reports that their son is doing well after recovering from his fracture.
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