Virginia nurse arrested for breaking bones of newborn babies in hospital NICU

Erin Elizabeth Strotman, 26, has been arrested in connection to the abuse of multiple babies who had fractured bones as they were in the NICU of the medical center. The NICU has been forced to close as a result as police have conducted an investigation.

"The Henrico County Police Division is utilizing all available resources to ensure a thorough investigation into this matter," the police department commented on the case. "This involves reviewing dozens of videos from inside the NICU. As previously mentioned, detectives are re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of this broader investigation."

Strotman graduated as a nurse in 2019 and is originally from Virginia. After being employed at the hospital, police opened an investigation into mysterious fracture injuries of four babies that happened in the summer of 2023. Additionally, three more were hurt this year in the last few months.

One couple, Dominique and Tori Hackey, reached out to Virginia Child Services to inform the organization last year that one of their twin sons had suffered a broken tibia while in the NICU. At first, hospital workers attempted to say it could have been accidental until Child Services finished their investigation and revealed that their son Noah had suffered level 1 physical abuse while in the NICU's care.

A letter from CPS stated, "Following a [thorough] CPS investigation this agency has determined the disposition of this report to be founded level 1 for physical abuse of Noah by an employee by the Henrico Doctor’s Hospital NICU." Noah has since fully recovered from his injuries.

In a statement to reporters, the Virginia Department of Health said, "We are working closely with other state and local partners, including the Henrico Police Department and Virginia State Police."