NICU NURSE FROM HELL TAKES SWEETHEART PLEA DEAL AFTER BREAKING BONES OF MULTIPLE NEWBORNS
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.2 • 8.1K Ratings
🗓️ 7 February 2026
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Erin Strotman, a former 27-year-old NICU nurse initially facing 20 charges, gets a sweetheart deal after pleading no contest to nine charges of child abuse.
The abuse came to light when Henrico County Police Detective Megan Lynch responded to Henrico Doctors' Hospital regarding a 5-month-old male in the NICU, found with a fractured left femur.
Further examination revealed the child also had a fractured right tibia and multiple rib fractures. Investigators noted similarities between the injuries and those suffered by four males in the NICU during the previous summer.
Following the earlier unexplained injuries, the hospital installed surveillance cameras throughout the NICU. Detective Lynch reviewed the surveillance footage and reported her findings.
On November 10, Nurse Erin Strotman was recorded in the room with the baby identified as "Y.H." in hospital records. The footage showed Strotman grabbing Y.H. by the legs and applying pressure, placing her weight on them, and pushing the baby's legs backward until his feet reached his head. The video shows Y.H. crying and appearing to be distressed.
Seven potential abuse cases are now under investigation, and police say more may be uncovered. Henrico County investigators are reviewing hundreds of hours of surveillance footage to piece together the events.
Reports indicate that at least three affected families attended Strotman's court appearance. One father, speaking publicly, stated that another couple reported their child had suffered 12 fractures.
Strotman has been formally charged in one baby's case, with the investigation ongoing. Her public defender stated that she has not yet entered a plea.
Strotman remains in custody without bail, and her next court appearance is set for March 24.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
- Dominique Hackey - Father of Infant Injured in PNCU
- Greg Morse - Partner at King Morse, PLLC. Current CJA Counsel, Former West Palm Beach Public Defender's Office; Author: "The Untested" (found on Amazon)
- Dr. John Delatorre - Licensed Psychologist and Mediator (specializing in forensic psychology); Psychological Consultant to Project Absentis: a nonprofit organization that searches for missing persons; X, IG, and TikTok - @drjohndelatorre
- Barry Hutchison Sr. - Former Law Enforcement, Owner & Chief Investigator for Barry & Associates Investigative Services LLC
- Dr. William Morrone - Chief Medical Examiner, Bay County, Michigan; Author: "American Narcan: Naloxone & Heroin-Fentanyl Associated Mortality"
- Dave Mack - 'Crime Stories' Investigative Reporter
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.9 | Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. |
| 0:11.0 | This is the last thing I want to see hovering over my bed if I had to be in the hospital. |
| 0:16.5 | This intensive care nurse, the one accused of abusing newborn babies. |
| 0:23.3 | Now, cops a deal. |
| 0:26.8 | I'm Nancy Grace. |
| 0:27.7 | This is crime stories. |
| 0:29.0 | I want to thank you for being with us. |
| 0:31.1 | An intensive care nurse, ICU in Virginia, accused of abusing infant babies, newborns, pleads no contest to nine counts |
| 0:41.2 | felony child abuse. I don't think I would have let her plea, no contest, no low contendree. |
| 0:46.2 | In other words, I'm not saying I did it and I'm not saying I didn't do it. Oh no, woman, you |
| 0:52.4 | are going to confess up under oath. Uh-uh. H-E-L-N-O. You're going to tell the truth. |
| 0:59.8 | That said, they let her play no low. Erin Elizabeth Ann Strutman, 27. Thank goodness they got her. |
| 1:09.0 | She's got a whole lifetime of abusing infants ahead of her if they hadn't, |
| 1:13.3 | arrested last year after multiple newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit, |
| 1:20.2 | NICU, were left with unexplained fractures to their tiny bodies. |
| 1:25.7 | Can you imagine? |
| 1:31.1 | Oh, fur would fly if my my little babies and NICU got fractures to their legs, oh, my stars and the babies couldn't even say anything. |
| 1:38.2 | The hospital closed its NICU when police started their investigation, and then what came was a long list of crimes alleged against Strotman. |
| 1:49.0 | This is what we know. |
| 1:51.0 | Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. |
... |
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