Families react, advocate for change as serial killer nurse sentenced Thursday
Tears and applause filled the Butler County courthouse Thursday morning, May 2, as victims’ families watched a former nurse plead guilty to their loved ones’ deaths.
Later, amid a more than eight-hour proceeding, many family members and friends of the 22 victims spoke about the pain caused by Heather Pressdee, 41, of Natrona Heights, who pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted murder.
Some took the opportunity to call the nurse “evil.” Others offered forgiveness. Many advocated for change in the industry.
“It did put a hole in my heart,” said Helen Bartoe. Her son James “Matt” Bartoe, 55, was hospitalized after he was injected with a lethal dose of insulin while Pressdee was working on Nov. 19, 2022, and later died Dec. 4, 2022.
Following the sentencing and making her statement to the court, Barto said she felt remorse for Pressdee.
“I just feel sorry for her, but I feel sorry for her parents,” she said. “I lost a son, but they’re losing a daughter also. And I know they didn’t raise her that way.”
Pressdee was linked to the deaths of 17 patients and injected lethal doses of insulin to five others who were under her care at nursing homes in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland counties.
She was sentenced Thursday to three consecutive life sentences without parole and 380 to 760 years in prison after entering a guilty plea.
Throughout the proceeding, family members and friends of victims approached the podium to share victim impact statements, addressing Judge Joseph Kubit, and often Pressdee herself about their loved ones and the pain they felt over losing them.
Families would often go up together, comforting each other as they read victim impact statements. Many of those speaking remarked that Pressdee was trying to “play God” when she injected patients with insulin.
At one point, a woman used obscene language in a remark directed at Pressdee, which resulted in benches full of people erupting into applause.
Cheryl Reynolds and her daughter, Brandi, carried a sign with pictures of Ann Victain, who died at age 104 at Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, into the courtroom. Victain was Cheryl’s grandmother.
“She was an amazing woman, she lived a very healthy life,” Cheryl Reynolds said of Victain. “She enjoyed people so much … She did everything in her power to help people.”
She added that her grandmother was also considered herself a “Cupid,” playing matchmaker over the years for her family.
Reynolds said she did not react when Pressdee stood and said she was “deeply sorry” for her actions at the end of the proceedings.
“It didn’t really have a huge impact on me to see her break down,” she said. “I think she needed to hear these stories and who these people were as not just a burden on her employment. … I’m at a loss for words, she shouldn’t have been in this profession at all.”
Being in court was just one way Reynolds said she felt she was supporting her grandmother and other victims.
“I’ve been with her through everything, so I felt I had to be here for (Victain),” she said. “I want people to be aware, ask questions, delve into how (care facilities) do background checks. Things need to change.”
Other statements throughout the day included remarks of forgiveness, like that of Sherry Gibson, who’s sister, Betty Hutchison, survived a lethal dose of insulin administered by Pressdee.
Hutchison suffered a stroke after the injection, Gibson said, and now has limited mobility. She said Hutchison was still “tough.”
“We have a promise from God that he still loves us as long as we have life and breath. And he still loves you, have no doubt about that,” she said to Pressdee. “He is a God of mercy and a God of grace. He is a God of a second chance.”
Pressdee was visibly moved by Gibson’s statement, wiping her eyes repeatedly.
Hutchison’s great-niece, Marissa Hiles, said she herself is a nurse, and it was unfathomable to her that Pressdee did not abide by the nurses’ oath.
“I find it especially despicable that (Pressdee) carried out these actions willingly … I’m glad that she pleaded guilty,” Hiles said during a recess.
She described her great-aunt as having a “strong personality.”
“She was able to be herself, until (Pressdee) took that from her,” she said.
Debbie Bly said her father, James “Jim” Fair, died at age 92 at Quality Life Services in Chicora. She described him as “a lot of fun.”
“He’d give his grandkids the shirt off his back,” she said.
Bly said she agreed with Pressdee’s proposed sentence.
“With her being in jail for life … it’s not going to be fun and games … but it’s like that lady said, God forgives,” she said. “She shouldn’t have contact with anyone because she took (the victims’) rights away.”
During her statement to the court, Bly asked Pressdee to look at her. When she did not, Bly still extended her forgiveness.
“I need to say I forgive you for what you did to my family and others here,” she said.
Russ Colwell described his grandmother, Mary, as his “buddy.” She died at age 92 in 2021 at Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Westmoreland County.
He said he was happy about the sentencing.
“I’m glad she’s not going to be able to hurt anybody else,” he said.
He elaborated that he hopes this case will cause reform in the health care system, specifically to how nurse misconduct is investigated and dealt with.
Melinda Brown, the sister of 43-year-old Nicholas Cymbol, who was the last of Pressdee’s victims, said she was surprised by how relieved she was as she left the courthouse Thursday evening.
“It was really helpful to meet the others and hear their stories,” she said.
