Ph.D. Student Sentenced to 35–80 Years for Killing Best Friend's 6-Week-Old Baby While Babysitting — After Admitting 'Compulsion' to Hurt Children
Nicole Verzi will avoid the death penalty.
Oct. 30 2026, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
Nicole Virzi, the California woman who murdered her friends' newborn, pled guilty to third-degree murder, RadarOnline.com can report.
The 32-year-old pled guilty as part of a plea deal the victim's parents, Savannah Roberts and Ethan Katz, insisted upon to avoid the "traumatization" of a trial and reliving their son Leon's death.
Death Penalty Avoided
Nicole Virzi didn't speak in court.
"Out of respect for Dr. Roberts and Mr. Katz, Ms. Virzi will remain silent because she understands that nothing she could say today would undo the harm she has done to their family, and no words of apology would be sufficient to address the pain she has caused them," her lawyer, Tina Miller, said during the hearing.
Virzi will spend 35 to 80 years in prison.
Prosecutors were originally aiming for the death penalty and first-degree murder before a plea was brought into the equation.
A Harrowing Visit
The baby had 31 injuries.
In June 2024, Virzi visited her friend Roberts six weeks after she gave birth to twins Leon and Ari.
At some point, Virzi was reportedly changing baby Ari's diaper and noticed scratches and a rash. She texted a photo to Katz, and the couple took Ari to the hospital – leaving Virzi with Leon.
Hours later, the babysitter called 911 saying Leon was struggling to breathe and had a bump on his head. An ambulance came and took him to the hospital, where the baby later died.
Per a report, the six-week-old had 31 injuries, which included a skull fracture, a brain bleed, and bruises on his abdomen, legs, arms, chest, scalp, face, and ear. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office ruled he died from blunt force trauma to his head.
The then-29-year-old first told cops Leon was sitting in his bouncy seat and he fell out while she was in the kitchen. When investigators continued to press her due to the extent of his injuries, she confessed what really occurred.
Chilling Confession of Urge to Hurt Children
Virzi confessed to a longtime urge to hurt children.
"From a very, very young age, I don't know what it is, but I always had this urge, almost like a compulsion I can't control, to hurt kids," Virzi told investigators.
She said something "just came over" her that she was unable to control and was confessing because "I can't keep lying about it."
Regarding what happened to Leon, Virzi admitted she "shook him a couple of times, hard. And I dropped him a couple of times, hard."
Additionally, she confessed to flipping Leon upside down on the floor and she "heard some kind of crack".
"I don't want to hurt anyone anymore," the killer stated. "I know the best thing is for me to go away, or maybe worse."
Inside the Interrogation
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Virzi's Miranda rights were read to her three times.
After the interrogation, Virzi's attorneys, Tina Miller and William Difenderfer, tried to get it suppressed, alleging she was coerced into confessing.
Virzi spoke to detectives for 13 hours, during which her lawyers alleged they used "nearly every trick in the book to manipulate Ms. Virzi into making a statement."
According to a publication, during a two-hour interrogation, she was read her Miranda rights twice. When she requested a lawyer, she was shackled, and detectives stopped asking questions.
Over the next 10 hours, no interrogation took place. Instead, Virzi spoke to her parents, ate a variety of snacks detectives bought her, and spoke to a defense attorney her parents seemingly hired.
In the afternoon, the suspect's parents visited, hugging her and saying, "We will get through this as a family." They also reassured her they hired a "good" defense lawyer.
A couple of hours later, the suspect went to the restroom and told detectives she wanted to talk. She confessed after hearing her Miranda rights a third time.
