Henrico Police: No evidence nurse accused in Henrico Doctors' Hospital NICU cases targeted babies by race
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There is no evidence that a former Henrico Doctors' Hospital nurse accused of abusing a newborn in the hospital's NICU unit targeted children based upon their race, Henrico Police Chief Eric English said in a statement Jan. 7.
Recent social media posts and some news articles have suggested that the former HDH employee, 26-year-old Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman of Chesterfield County, was targeting babies who were Black. But those claims are "not factual," according to the preliminary investigation conducted by Henrico Police.
“We understand the feelings and emotions this investigation has generated for our community members and beyond,” English said in a statement. “We kindly request patience as our detectives work to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases. The Henrico County Police Division is working seamlessly with our partners, including the Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, to investigate these cases; we will not be deterred.”
Strotman faces charges of malicious wounding and felony child abuse in connection to an incident that occurred Nov. 10 in which an infant suffered fractures. Four other babies had suffered similar injuries at the unit in the summer of 2023, and Strotman was placed on paid administrative leave that year after the hospital conducted an internal investigation, according to Virginia Department of Social Services records obtained exclusively by WTVR, a Henrico Citizen partner.
That investigation concluded that Strotman was one of two staff persons “found to have had contact with all of the infants in the timeframe identified,” and unlike the other employee, Strotman was “new to the unit and had more direct care responsibilities with the NICU infants," WTVR reported. But CPS and police officials could not determine at the time who had abused the infants.
Henrico Police officials continue to review dozens of videos from inside the NICU as part of their investigation and are re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of a broader investigation.
Police officials are not releasing specific information about the race or gender of the infants who suffered injuries, nor are they providing details about the specific injuries they suffered, because they do not want to compromise the investigation, they said in a statement.
Anyone with thoughts of information specific to this investigation should contact Henrico Police at police@henrico.gov or submit tips anonymously through Metro Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000 or by using P3tips.com.