A Virginia woman has been arrested on charges including child abuse after more than a half-dozen babies suffered fractures during a span of more than a year at the Virginia neonatal intensive care unit where she previously worked.
Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 26, is charged with malicious wounding and felony child abuse in connection to an ongoing local and state investigation at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, the Henrico County Police Division said.
Strotman was employed as a nurse when one of the newborns was injured at the hospital on Nov. 10, said Shannon Taylor, the Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney.
“While there has been an arrest for one person for allegedly inflicting injury on a single victim, I would emphasize this is an ongoing investigation spanning potential offenses committed in both 2023 and 2024.” Taylor told USA TODAY.
Henrico County Sheriff’s Office records show Strotman was booked early Friday into the jail , where she remained without bond Tuesday. She was arraigned on the charges and is slated to appear in court on the charges March 24.
Strotman’s court-appointed attorney, Scott Cardani, declined to comment to USA TODAY on Tuesday.
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The hospital said in a statement on Christmas Eve that its employees in late November and December discovered three babies in its NICU had unexplained fractures, “similar to an incident involving four babies in the summer of 2023.”
“We initiated a thorough internal investigation, informed the families and notified the proper authorities and regulatory agencies and worked collaboratively with them on their investigations,” the hospital wrote in the statement.
The next day on Dec. 26, law enforcement opened their investigation, with police saying they were made aware of an internal investigation involving the NICU. On Dec 31, police reported that previously closed cases related to the incidents had been reopened as part of the recent broader investigation involving babies injured dating back to 2023.
In a separate statement released Friday, the hospital confirmed the ongoing investigation into fractures sustained by patients in its NICU.
“This morning, the Henrico County Police Department arrested a former employee of the hospital in connection with that investigation,” the hospital released in its updated statement. “We have been assisting law enforcement in their ongoing investigation and will continue to do so.”
“We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally impacted by this investigation,” the hospital wrote.
As of Tuesday, Strotman has been charged in connection to one incident on Nov. 10, Henrico County police spokesperson Karina Bolster told USA TODAY, but detectives were also looking at similar injuries with other babies at the NICU.
“Due to the sensitive nature of this investigation we’re not able to release specifics on the number of victims/injuries/what unfolded,” Bolster said.
The Virginia State Police, the Virginia Health Department, Child Protective Services, and the Attorney General’s Office are also investigating.
According to police, Strotman is from Chesterfield County, just south of Richmond.
The hospital described Strotman as a former employee in a statement posted on its website, but did not say how long she worked there.
Strotman received her nursing license in May 2019, and her certification remained active online as of Tuesday, according to the Virginia Department of Health Professions.
In an updated statement, the hospital said it isn’t accepting any more babies to their NICU out of an abundance of caution.
“For babies needing NICU care, we will assess them, stabilize, and facilitate a transfer to an appropriate facility, once available,” the hospital wrote. It also said it “has taken immediate steps to enhance safety measures” at the hospital including installing two new security systems to record all activity in its NICU rooms.
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Henrico police Chief Eric D. English said detectives combed through “hundreds of hours of footage” before arresting Strotman.
Police said they were reviewing dozens of videos and “re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of this broader investigation.”
“We understand the feelings and emotions this investigation has generated for our community members and beyond,” English said Tuesday. “We kindly request patience as our detectives work to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases.”
If convicted of the felony charges and sentenced consecutively, Taylor said, Strotman faces up to 30 years in prison.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
