Heather Pressdee, a nurse from Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to multiple charges of killing nursing home residents by administering excessive doses of insulin. The plea was entered during a status conference at the Butler County Courthouse.
Pressdee was initially charged last May for the deaths of two patients and the hospitalization of another at Quality Life Services in Chicora. Subsequently, she faced additional charges for administering excessive insulin to 19 more patients across five different care facilities between 2020 and 2023.
In total, 17 patients under her care have died, with ages ranging from 43 to 104, and she is accused of mistreating 22 patients.
The insulin overdoses typically occurred during overnight shifts when staffing levels were low, and the emergencies wouldn’t prompt immediate hospitalization. Pressdee now faces first-degree murder and attempted murder charges.
During the court proceedings, families of the victims described Pressdee as “evil,” recounting the loss of their loved ones at her hands. Despite their emotional statements, Pressdee showed no visible reaction and received three life sentences.
Following the criminal charges, several wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the nursing homes where Pressdee worked. One lawsuit, in particular, alleges that administrators were aware of Pressdee’s problematic employment history, including terminations from similar facilities. Another suit was filed on behalf of the family of 43-year-old Nicholas Cymbol, who died at the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Butler.