By Salma El-Sakka
Nicole Virzi, 32, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Pittsburgh court to third-degree murder and other charges in the death of her best friend’s 6-week-old son, Leon Katz, under a plea agreement that will likely keep her in prison for life. She was sentenced to 35 to 80 years behind bars.
Plea agreement and sentencing
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office said the plea was offered after consultation with the family and in the community’s best interest. Virzi, a doctoral student at the University of California San Diego, had faced capital murder charges carrying the possibility of the death penalty.
Details of the crime
Virzi was visiting Savannah Roberts in Pittsburgh in June 2024 and offered to babysit Roberts’ newborn twins, Leon and Ari Katz. After the parents took Ari to the hospital for wounds later determined to have been inflicted by Virzi, she cared for Leon alone. She called police claiming Leon had fallen from a baby bouncer, but the infant was pronounced dead at a children’s hospital. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
Confession and motive
Prosecutors said Virzi told investigators she had an uncontrollable compulsion to harm children. She used her trusted relationship with the family to gain access to the infants, according to the criminal complaint.
Family impact
Roberts wrote in a letter to the judge that the crime shattered her trust and self-confidence, leaving her unable to leave the surviving twin, Ari, alone with anyone. Both parents are twins themselves and had long dreamed of having twins.
Parole prospects
Legal analyst Phil DiLucente said Virzi must serve the full 35-year minimum before parole eligibility and that a parole board is highly unlikely to release her given the premeditated nature of the crime.
