A former Pennsylvania nurse arrested earlier this year on homicide and other charges, has confessed to authorities that she tried to kill 19 other people.
On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office confirmed Heather Pressdee, 41, was hit with a dozen of new charges after she was previously accused of having prescribed excessive amounts of insulin to patients, which also resulted in the killing of two patients and hospitalizing a third, PEOPLE reported.
“Today, the Office of Attorney General filed charges regarding mistreatment of 19 additional patients at five different care facilities between 2020 and this year,” a November press release reads.
“Pressdee is accused of administering excessive amounts of insulin to these patients, some of whom were diabetic and required insulin, and some of whom were not. In total, seventeen patients died who had been cared for by Pressdee,” the release added.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said Pressdee, of Natrona Heights, had admitted to trying to kill 19 other patients with insulin at five different rehabilitation centers.
“It is hard to comprehend how a nurse, trusted to care for her patients, could choose to deliberately and systematically harm them,” Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a statement.
“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 Pressdee accountable for her crimes and protect care-dependent Pennsylvanians from future harm.”
Pressdee’s victims ranged in age from 43 to 104. “Pressdee typically administered the insulin during overnight shifts when staffing was low and the emergencies would not prompt immediate hospitalization,” the release added, with Henry also calling the allegations “disturbing.”
Pressdee has been charged with mistreatment of 22 patients and two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person.
According to authorities, the alleged crimes occurred at several facilities, including 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.
Pressdee was arraigned on Thursday and waived her preliminary hearing on these charges. She remains in custody at Butler County Prison without bail.
Pressdee was arrested in May and was arraigned on two counts of homicide, one count of attempted murder, one count of aggravated assault, three counts of neglect of a care-dependent person and three counts of reckless endangerment.
The Attorney General’s Office said the alleged acts happened at Quality Life Services, a skilled nursing facility in Chicora where Pressdee worked as a registered nurse. According to a criminal complaint, a 55-year-old man died on Dec. 4, 2022 and an 83-year-old man died on Dec. 25, 2022.
A third alleged victim, a 73-year-old man, survived after being treated at the hospital as a result of the “potentially lethal dose of insulin he received on Aug. 31, 2022,” according to the release, which also stated two of the three men were not diabetic.
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