A Pennsylvania nurse who admitted to intentionally poisoning two dozen patients with insulin was described as "pure evil" by victims' loved ones during her sentencing hearing this week.
Heather Pressdee, 41, of Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, and 19 counts of criminal attempt to commit murder, in connection with the administration of "lethal and potentially lethal" doses of insulin to 22 patients at medical facilities in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, and Westmoreland counties, beginning in 2020, according to state prosecutors.
Pressdee was handed down three life sentences for the murder charges, plus 380 to 760 years of consecutive incarceration for the 19 counts of criminal attempt to commit murder.
One of the patient's she admitted to killing, Nick Cymbol, died at Sunnyview Nursing Home in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Cymbol's sister, Melinda Brown, described Pressdee as "pure evil," according to CBS News.
"There's no justice for this. We'll get justice when she meets her maker," Brown said.
Patient Betty Hutchinson survived Pressdee's attempt to kill her, but she suffered a stroke that left her with the inability to speak.
"She's still with us, she's just not quite the person she was prior to this," her niece Marissa Hiles said, the outlet reported.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General first started investigating Pressdee in late 2022 after receiving a complaint. She was arrested in May 2023.
"The defendant used her position of trust as a means to poison patients who depended on her for care," Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a statement, in part. "This plea and life sentence will not bring back the lives lost, but it will ensure Heather Pressdee never has another opportunity to inflict further harm."
