Pennsylvania Nurse Now Faces Attempted Murder, First-Degree Murder Charges on Patients

Heather Pressdee, a western Pennsylvania nurse who was charged in May for mistreating three patients in her care, has now been charged with administering lethal doses of insulin to a total of 22 patients at five different health care facilities starting in 2020.

According to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, Heather Pressdee, 41, was additionally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder, and 19 counts of neglect of care-dependent persons.

In May, she was charged for her mistreatment of three patients. A press release stated that additional charges were added Nov. 2.

“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,” Henry said.

“The damage done to the victims and their loved ones cannot be overstated,” she added. “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.”

Pressdee, who is being held in Butler County Prison without bail, has been charged with first-degree murder in cases where physical evidence was available to support the cause of death. Attempted murder charges are for the patients who survived and the victims whose cause of death could not be determined.

The patients ranged in age from 43 to 104. Some of the victims who received excessive amounts of insulin from Pressdee were diabetic and required insulin, and the others were not. Seventeen patients died in her care, the attorney general’s office said.

The crimes that she is accused of took place at 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.