Nurse charged with killing patients with insulin now facing 19 additional charges
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - Heather Pressdee, a nurse in Butler County who was already facing charges related to giving patients lethal doses of insulin, is now facing charges related to the mistreatment of 19 additional patients.
According to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, the 41-year-old nurse allegedly administered lethal doses of insulin to three patients beginning in 2020. Now 19 additional patients have been found to have been mistreated while under her care at five different care facilities.
She is accused of administering excessive amounts of insulin to the patients and some of them were not diabetic.
In total, 17 patients under Pressdee's care have died.
Now, she is facing two new charges of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder, and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person.
According to the attorney general's office, Pressdee is charged with first-degree murder in the cases "where physical evidence is available to support the cause of death" and attempted murder in the cases "where the victims either survived the excessive dosage of insulin, or the cause of death could not be determined."
"The allegations against Ms. Pressdee are disturbing, it is hard to comprehend how a nurse, trusted to care for her patients, could choose to deliberately and systematically harm them," said Henry. "The damage done to the victims and their loved ones cannot be overstated. Every person in a medical or care facility should feel safe and cared for, and my office will work tirelessly to hold the defendant accountable for her crimes and protect care-dependent Pennsylvanians from future harm."
The facilities where Pressdee's alleged crimes took place are Concordia at Rebecca Residence, Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation (Guardian), Quality Life Services Chicora, Premier Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
The age of the victims ranged from 43 to 104 and in total, she is charged with mistreating 22 patients.
Typically, she would administer the insulin during overnight shifts when staffing was low and the emergencies would not prompt a hospitalization.
Personal injury attorney Robert Peirce is representing the family estate of Marianne Bower, who died under Pressdee's care.
"Miss Pressdee was involved in multiple situations where many residents have passed away. It is a family's worst nightmare. It's a situation that we were afraid when we first were retained is true, and today's charges confirmed the horrible scenario that many families in western Pennsylvania are facing right now," Peirce said.
Peirce hopes to encourage employers to change the way they investigate potential employees.
"There were complaints by staff and nurses that were concerned Heather Pressdee was actually killing patients. And yet they did an investigation, they being Belair, kept her on, did not immediately terminate her, and then afterwards, nurse Pressdee went on to several other facilities where more patients passed away. This is clearly unacceptable," Peirce said.
Anyone with information about incidents regarding Pressdee is asked to contact the Office of the Attorney General's tipline at 888-538-8541.
Pressdee is now being housed at the Butler County Prison without bail.