Nurse Heather Pressdee, who killed three patients and tried to kill many more, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted murder Thursday. The judge in Butler County, Pennsylvania, sentenced her to "380 to 760 years of consecutive incarceration" for the attempts and life imprisonment for the murders.
Pressdee, 41, injected patients at 22 different sites with insulin, irrespective of a prescribed need for the drug and always in excessive doses. She pleaded guilty to avoid the possibility of the death penalty, according to her attorney.
"The defendant used her position of trust as a means to poison patients who depended on her for care," Attorney General Henry said in a press release. "This plea and life sentence will not bring back the lives lost, but it will ensure Heather Pressdee never has another opportunity to inflict further harm. I offer my sincere sympathy to all who have suffered at this defendant's hands. I commend my agents and investigators, and assisting agencies, who meticulously worked this investigation to uncover the defendant's terrible acts."
Pressdee was caught after a complaint in 2022, leading to an investigation and charges in May 2023.
The daughter of victim Irene Simons said she'll "never forgive" Pressdee for what she did.
"We're angry and hurt that she disguised herself as a caring nurse," Elizabeth Simons Ozella told CNN affiliate WTAE. "She took someone from this earth that she had no right to take, and she played God when she didn't have that right."
"She's pure evil," victim Nicholas Cymbol's sister Melinda Brown said, according to WTAE. "There's no justice for this. We'll get justice when she meets her maker."
