Text messages found by prosecutors are giving insight into the mental state of a Virginia hospital NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) nurse accused of harming at least one premature baby.
Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 26, is charged with malicious wounding and felony child abuse... Continue reading here ▶
The charges relate to an incident in November last year at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond. Videos allegedly show Strotman bending a 5-month-old baby boy’s legs so far that his feet touched his head.
During a court hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors showed some of Strotman’s text messages. In one message from October 2023, she said she was pacing and felt like she had taken “cocaine again,” even though she hadn’t. She also said she felt like she had a personality disorder.
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“I feel manic,” she wrote. “It takes everything in me not to start s—.”
The day before she was arrested, she texted that she was “five seconds away from checking myself into crisis.”
The judge decided again not to release Strotman on bail, so she remains in jail.
As previously reported, Strotman may have abused more than one baby. The hospital says three babies had “unexplained fractures” in November 2024, and four other babies had similar injuries in the summer of 2023.
Investigators reviewed many videos from inside the NICU and identified Strotman as the suspect. They are still looking through evidence, including “hundreds of hours of footage,” to get justice for all the babies who were harmed.
The hospital described Strotman as a “former employee” and temporarily closed its NICU during the investigation as a precaution.
They stated they were shocked and saddened by what happened and are focused on caring for their patients and supporting their staff who have been deeply affected by this. They also thanked their staff and law enforcement for their hard work on the investigation.
One of the babies allegedly abused in the summer of 2023 was Noah Hackey, who suffered a broken tibia (leg bone).
His father, Dominque Hackey, explained that Noah and his twin brother were born prematurely at the hospital in August 2023 and were in the NICU together.
When Noah was about two weeks old, they noticed his left leg was discolored. An X-ray showed it was broken. The family reported it to Child Protective Services, who determined a hospital employee was responsible, but they couldn’t identify who.
Hackey was shocked that his son wasn’t the only one allegedly abused. He said the hospital failed multiple families on many levels and needs to be held responsible. He added that if they suspected someone enough to let them go, they shouldn’t have rehired them.