Woman pleads guilty to killing friend’s 6-week-old son, said she had compulsion to harm kids

A woman driven by a compulsion to harm children admitted in a Pittsburgh court that she murdered her best friend’s infant son in a plea agreement that is likely to keep her in prison for life. Nicole Virzi, 32, had been charged with capital murder with the possibility of the death penalty before she opted to plead guilty Wednesday to third-degree murder and other charges. She was sentenced to 35 to 80 years behind bars. “Although this office was committed to pursuing this case to trial and its ultimate conclusion, after continued and on-going consultation with the family and considering the best interest of the community and its protection we agreed to offer the above plea and sentence,” the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

Virzi, a University of California San Diego doctoral student, was a close friend of the victim’s mother, Savannah Roberts. She had been visiting Pittsburgh and helping babysit Roberts’ newborn twins, Leon and Ari Katz, in 2024. In June 2024, the twins’ parents, Roberts and Ethan Katz, took Ari to the hospital after they discovered wounds on his body. Virzi offered to look after Leon while they were away. Late that night, Virzi called police and claimed 6-week-old Leon had fallen from a baby bouncer. He was rushed to a nearby children’s hospital,