35 years: Friend of parents gets time for killing 6-week-old son

A 32-year-old woman who visited Pittsburgh to watch her best friend's newborn twins was sentenced to 35 to 80 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to killing one of the infants.

Nicole Virzi, a doctoral student at the University of California San Diego, entered the plea in Allegheny County court. The agreement replaced earlier charges of capital murder, which carried a possible death penalty.

The sentencing followed an investigation that began in June 2024. At that time, Virzi was in Pittsburgh helping Savannah Roberts and her husband, Ethan Katz, care for their twins, Leon and Ari Katz.

Roberts and Katz took Ari to the hospital after finding wounds on his body. While they were away, Virzi offered to babysit Leon. Late that night, she called police to report that the 6-week-old had fallen from a baby bouncer.

Leon was rushed to a nearby children's hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. Pittsburgh police determined the severity of his injuries could not have resulted from a fall from that height.

The criminal complaint filed by Pittsburgh police ruled Leon's death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Investigators also found that Virzi caused the injuries to Ari that prompted the parents to leave the infant in her care.

Virzi told investigators she had a compulsion she could not control to harm children. Prosecutors stated that she used her trusted relationship with the Roberts and Katz family to place herself in a position to commit the acts.

Savannah Roberts wrote a letter to Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos describing the impact of the tragedy. Roberts said she felt unrecognizable from her former self and that her self-confidence was shattered.

"Nicole's actions have fundamentally changed me as a person and I feel unrecognizable from the Savannah I used to be," Roberts wrote. "I could've never imagined that a person, let alone my best friend, was capable of the cruelty or violence Nicole displayed."

Roberts added that she would never forgive herself for failing to protect her children. She described the physical toll of the trauma, noting it took nearly a year for her to use the bathroom or shower alone.

Whenever she entered the bathroom, Roberts said her husband, Ethan, had to stand outside the door to talk to her while holding Ari where she could see him. She wrote that she has never been able to leave Ari alone with a friend since the incident.

The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office issued a statement explaining the plea deal. The office said it had been committed to pursuing the case to trial but agreed to the plea after consulting with the family and considering the community's protection interests.