Virginia police have arrested a registered nurse in connection with a twisting attack that left a vulnerable newborn in a hospital's neonatal intensive care unit with an “unexplainable fracture” in November — and additional charges could be filed as investigators continue to investigate six similar incidents.
The 26-year-old suspect, Erin Elizabeth Ann Strootman, was booked into the Henrico County Jail on murder charges. A malicious wound and child abuse causing serious injury around 1:15 a.m. Friday.
A puzzling series of infections in babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at Henrico Physicians Hospital in Richmond in November and December prompted officials to launch an internal investigation and close the unit to new patients on Christmas Eve.
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Erin Strootman is pictured in a photo taken on Friday, January 3, 2025. The Virginia registered nurse is facing charges of child abuse and malicious injury in connection with an incident involving a newborn in a Richmond-area neonatal intensive care unit. (Henrico County Sheriff's Office)
Public records show Strootman's registered nurse license was first issued in 2019 and is valid through May 2026.
“In late November/December, we discovered that three infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Henrico Physicians Hospital had unexplainable fractures, similar to an incident involving four infants in the summer of 2023,” the hospital said in a statement.
Concerned parents reported the injuries to Child Protective Services last year.
“Finally, we can get some answers about who abused our son. I wish I could say it was a happy moment when I learned of her arrest, but when I learned the details about the other children, the only feeling I feel is sadness and remorse.” Dominic Haacke, the father of one of the victims, told Fox News Digital on Friday. “I am deeply saddened to learn the extent to which this person was allowed to get away with it, and I regret that I should have spoken up sooner in the hope of preventing other children from being harmed.”
One of Hucke's twin sons, pictured with a supportive brace on his ankle after suffering a freak injury, which investigators later deemed to have been caused by a hospital worker in a twisty child abuse case. (Courtesy of Dominic Haacke)
Hackey first went public with his story to the local news station WTVR-TV Last month, revealing the confusion surrounding one of his twin son's injuries. He suffered a mysterious fracture of his tibia in September 2023. His mother, a former neonatal intensive care unit nurse, reported the injury to social services.
Henrico CPS did not tell them until a year later that it had concluded that their son was the victim of physical abuse from an unnamed hospital employee. Then in October, county police reportedly told them about other similar cases.
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The hospital announced the closure of the neonatal intensive care unit on Dec. 24 after the latest three incidents, but until then the alleged assailant remained unknown until police announced Strootman's arrest on Friday.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are not accepting any additional babies into our neonatal intensive care unit at this time,” the hospital said on Christmas Eve. “Although fractures sometimes occur in premature babies because they lack full development of fetal bones, we are actively working to determine how these fractures occur.”
Now, 16 months later, Noah Haacke has recovered from his injury. (Courtesy of Dominic Haacke)
While hospital officials previously said fractures could happen to premature babies, they nonetheless increased security measures, installed new monitoring systems and notified police after the second series of attacks.
New safety measures included training on general safety and how to recognize and report signs of abuse, head-to-toe examinations of patients by doctors, and a monitoring system where each health care provider is accompanied by another doctor whenever they enter a child's room. The hospital said.
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They also turned over hours of surveillance video to police, who were still examining the footage after Strootman was arrested in connection with the Nov. 10 incident.
“We appreciate the patience of the families and the public as we work as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible to investigate every lead in connection with these cases,” Henrico Police Chief Eric English said in a statement. “I would also like to commend the diligent efforts of our investigators who continue to comb through hundreds of hours of footage and express my sincere gratitude to Henrico Child Protective Services (Department of Social Services), the Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, and the Virginia State Police.” and the Virginia Department of Health and the Attorney General’s Office for their assistance in this matter.”
No charges have been filed in Haki's case, but police said they are actively working to collect evidence in all remaining incidents.
Finally we can get some answers about who hurt our son. I wish I could say it was a happy moment when I learned of her arrest, but when I learned the details about the other children, the only feeling I feel is sadness and remorse.
Henrico police said Friday that Strootman is a resident of Midlothian, a suburb of Richmond, and is being considered by authorities in connection with a number of similar cases between 2023 and 2024, including inactive cases.
“All previously closed cases related to these incidents have been reopened,” police said in a statement. “All families involved in this current wider investigation have been notified.”
Due to health care privacy laws, authorities said they could not reveal many additional details.
An image on Google Maps showing the hospital's emergency room. Authorities have beefed up safety measures, with police saying a registered nurse is responsible for at least one attack on a newborn baby in the neonatal intensive care unit. (google maps)
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“We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally affected by this investigation,” said HCA Healthcare, which owns the hospital. In a statement.
With the possibility of additional charges being imposed, police are asking anyone with information to do so Contact investigators At police@henrico.gov, visit P3tips.com or call Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
Court records show Strootman's previous run-ins with the law included only minor traffic violations.
She was scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning in Henrico Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
As for the Haki family, their son has since recovered from his fracture and is in good health.
“He's a very adventurous little boy,” his father said.
