Pennsylvania nurse Heather Pressdee, accused of murdering two patients, confessed to attempting to kill another 19 patients. Details biography facts explored.
In September 2023, British serial killer and former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was jailed for life for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.
A similar story, with the age of victims only being different, is that of a Pennsylvania nurse who is accused of murdering two patients under her care and attempting to kill 17 more.
Heather Pressdee, 41, allegedly engaged in medical malpractice that impacted 22 of her patients.
Police say nurse Pressdee is accused of murdering two patients has now confessed to attempting to kill another 19 patients.
Here’s everything we know about who Heather Pressdee is, where she is now, and what she did.
Who is Heather Pressdee?
Heather Pressdee is a 41-year-old Pennsylvania nurse.
She was born between 1981 and 1982. There are no details about her parents, siblings, and other family members at the moment.
Also, details about her upbringing, childhood, educational background, and more are yet to be made public.
Growing up in a normal working-class family, Pressdee had always wanted to become a health practitioner and she indeed worked for it.
Heather had worked with several health facilities in Pennsylvania, where she lives.
Her recent workplace was at Quality Life Services, a nursing facility in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
According to court records, other hospitals she was previously employed at include Concordia at Rebecca Residence, Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation (Guardian), Premier Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, and Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
In all of these places she was employed, she was disciplined or fired over her career.
Pressdee is currently facing the law as she stands accused of administering excessive amounts of insulin to 22 patients − some who were diabetic and required insulin, and others who did not need the drug at all.
Her conduct, police wrote, spanned five years at 11 facilities in four counties across the state: Butler, Armstrong, Allegheny, and Westmoreland.
What did Heather Pressdee do?
Heather Pressdee, 41, has been charged with engaging in medical malpractice that hurt at least 22 of her patients.
During the investigation into these crimes, Pressdee allegedly admitted to trying to murder 19 patients, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Attorney Robert Peirce III, representing victim Marianna Bower, has critiqued the medical establishments that allowed Pressdee to work and says that the family is demanding answers through a wrongful death lawsuit, according to a report by CNN.
“The goal of the lawsuit is to determine how Heather Pressdee was able to work at 11 different facilities for a year period, where it is acknowledged and admitted by her that at least 17 of her patients passed away,” Peirce told CNN.
“In the Belair facility alone, four individuals passed away even though there were multiple complaints from staff members that Pressdee was killing patients. Yet… she still could work and then she went to other facilities where more patients were harmed or passed away,” he said.
The first two murder charges came in May, but after learning new details about Pressdee, investigators increased the charges to two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder, and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person.
“Pressdee is accused of administering excessive amounts of insulin to these patients, some of whom were diabetic and required insulin, and some of whom were not,” the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said in a press release last week.
The crimes allegedly happened at five different healthcare facilities where the suspect worked near her home in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, a suburb about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
The facilities where Pressdee’s alleged crimes occurred include Concordia at Rebecca Residence, Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation, Quality Life Services Chicora, Premier Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, and Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
Pressdee originally confessed to intentionally administering a lethal dose of medication to three patients at the Quality Life Services nursing facility, leading to the death of two men, ages 55 and 83, and the hospitalization of a third, according to a news release.
Prosecutors believe that she typically administered the insulin during night shifts when staffing levels were low so the emergencies wouldn’t lead to immediate hospitalization.
Pressdee’s possible motive for committing the crimes remains unknown.
“The allegations against Ms. Pressdee are disturbing,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a recent press release.
“It is hard to comprehend how a nurse, trusted to care for her patients, could choose to deliberately and systematically harm them,” she said.
Pressdee’s alleged victims were between the ages of 43 and 104.
“The damage done to the victims and their loved ones cannot be overstated,” Henry said.
“Every person in a medical or care facility should feel safe and cared for, and my office will work tirelessly to hold Pressdee accountable for her crimes and protect care-dependent Pennsylvanians from future harm.”
Where is Heather Pressdee now?
Heather Pressdee is currently in police custody at the Butler County Prison.
Pressdee was arraigned on Thursday and is being held without bail or bond on two counts of first-degree murder 17 counts of attempted murder, and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person.
Pressdee was originally charged for the alleged mistreatment of three patients in May.