PhD Student Accused of Murdering Friend's Infant Son in Pittsburgh

 A PhD student, whose father is a well-known Manhattan cardiologist, has been charged with the murder of the infant twin son of one of her close friends.

Nicole Virzi, a fifth-year PhD candidate in the San Diego State University/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, is also accused of physically abusing the deceased baby’s twin, resulting in hospitalization, according to reports.

Six-week-old Leon Katz, son of Ethan Katz and Savannah Roberts, died on Father’s Day while in Virzi’s care at the family’s Pittsburgh home, authorities stated.

Virzi and Roberts were both doctoral students—Roberts at the University of Pittsburgh—focused on eating disorders, trauma, and body image. The couple left Leon with Virzi while rushing Ari to the hospital due to a mysterious genital injury, which Virzi had reported.

Authorities allege that Virzi inflicted the injury on Ari, leading to his hospital stay.

While the parents were with Ari at the hospital, Virzi claimed that Leon fell from his bouncer chair when she stepped away to get a bottle, according to police and court records. However, doctors determined the injuries were consistent with child abuse and were neither natural nor accidental, as reported by WTAE.

Virzi was described as a "trusted family friend" in a GoFundMe page set up to support the grieving parents and their surviving son. She had been staying in a nearby Airbnb when she was asked to care for Leon, who was "alert, conscious, and not injured" at the time, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Pittsburgh’s TRIBLive.

Police arrived at the Walnut Street home after Virzi called 911 at 11:17 p.m. on June 15, claiming the baby had suffered a head bump. Virzi told police she began babysitting Leon around 6:30 p.m. and that he had been doing fine, having eaten, soiled two diapers, and been burped, according to the complaint. She claimed to have fallen asleep for a period while Leon was in the bouncer seat. When she awoke and went to get a bottle, she heard Leon screaming and found him on the floor with a large bump on his head, prosecutors said.

Paramedics rushed Leon to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead at 5:47 a.m. on Father’s Day. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, citing blunt force trauma to the head. A CT scan showed a severe skull fracture and multiple brain bleeds.

Virzi was charged on June 16 with criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She is currently held without bail at the Allegheny County Jail.

Virzi’s attorney, David Shrager, told The Post that his client is innocent and plans to plead not guilty. "She is obviously devastated," Shrager said. “She’s highly distraught and deeply sad. She said it was nothing intentional. We’re doing a deep investigation. She has no criminal history. We will do our best to give her a fair hearing in court. This is a case with a dead child and a young lady in jail. It should not be speculated on before the case goes to court.”