'Hard to comprehend': Pennsylvania nurse who confessed to killing off men in care facilities now linked to 17 deaths

A Pennsylvania nurse who admitted in May to killing patients with fatal doses of insulin has now been linked to 17 care facility deaths. Heather Pressdee, 41, of Natrona Heights was slapped Thursday with dozens of new charges pertaining to a series of slayings going back to at least 2020. Her alleged victims ranged in age from 43 to 104.

Pressdee has worked at over 11 rehabilitation facilities since 2018. It appears she changed locations at least once in response to disciplinary measures over her alleged abuse of staff and patients.

Pressdee told investigators on May 24 that she gave victims lethal doses of insulin, hoping that "they would slip into a coma and just pass away," reported CBS News.

She was initially charged in connection with the murder of two men, ages 55 and 83, at Quality Life Services in Chicora, and the attempted murder of a third man, age 73.

Pressdee is now suspected to have abused 22 victims and has admitted to trying to kill 19 patients.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced Thursday that she filed charges against Pressdee regarding the mistreatment of an additional 19 patients across five care facilities.

The victims had been at Concordia at Rebecca Residence; Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation; Quality Life Services Chicora; Premier Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center; and Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center — all locations where Pressdee served as a registered nurse.

Investigators indicated Pressdee would administer fatal doses of insulin during overnight shifts when there were few staff on hand and "often took steps to ensure her victims would expire prior to shift change so that they wouldn't be sent to the hospital where her scheme could be discovered through medical testing." If it looked as though her victims might pull through, Pressdee would allegedly take additional measures to ensure they died.

For instance, the criminal complaint noted that when insulin failed to kill one victim whom Pressdee later told investigators "needed to die," she administered a syringe full of air into the victim's catheter to create a lethal air embolism.

The complaint also details various messages the suspect sent to her mother, complaining about patients and her desire to kill various people.

Pressdee reportedly wrote regarding one patient on June 26, 2022, "If you get like this you will get pillow therapy."

Concerning another male patient, she allegedly wrote on Sept. 6, 2022, "I drugged him already and I don't know how he is awake."

On Dec. 7, 2022, Pressdee messaged her mother regarding a female resident who was sleeping, stating, "She could be dead, she hasn't made a noise since 9 and I'm not checking on her," adding later, "Well she's alive and she may die now," according to the complaint.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that while a 104-year-old victim had reportedly been mobile and doing well, Pressdee allegedly expressed disgust, telling co-workers, "When is she going to die already?"

Extra to her previous charges, Pressdee now faces two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder, and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person. Despite her various admissions, prosecutors appear to have stuck with attempted murder charges in various cases where the victims died, as causes of death could not be determined.

Still, Pressdee could face the death penalty, which one of her defense attorneys, James DePasquale, told the Associated Press that he is working to avoid. Capital punishment is legal in the state, although Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has so far maintained former Gov. Tom Wolf's moratorium on executions.

"We have been in communication with our client and the substantial amount of charges that were brought were not a surprise to anyone involved," said Pressdee's other attorney, Phil DiLucente.

Pressdee is being held at the Butler County Prison without bail.

"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 New York Times reported that the family of 68-year-old Marianne Bower, one of the victims, initially believed that she died of respiratory failure in September 2021. However, they recently learned from investigators that Pressdee admitted to killing Bower with insulin. Bower, like many of Pressdee's victims, was not a diabetic and had no need for insulin.

Rob Peirce, a lawyer representing Bower's estate in a wrongful death suit against the Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, said, "This is one of the worst cases we have seen with someone in the health care system going from facility to facility and, unfortunately, admitting to killing multiple people."

The Times indicated the facility did not return its requests for comment.

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