The father of a baby who was allegedly abused by a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit of a Virginia hospital has revealed one trait common to all seven victims.
Dominique Hackey’s son Noah suffered an unexplained tibia fracture in September 2023 while in the NICU at Henrico County Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond.
The hospital closed its NICU last month after launching an internal investigation into incidents of “unexplained fractures” suffered by at least seven newborn patients in 2023 and 2024.
Hackey, whose son’s case is currently being investigated by police, says there appears to be only one common thread in all the cases: the gender of the victims.
“There were all kinds of different injuries and two guys had multiple injuries,” he said Fox News On Tuesday, he added that the victims’ parents “cannot find a pattern as to why, other than that, our babies were just boys.”
According to Henrico County police, 26-year-old nurse Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman was indicted Friday on charges of malicious wounding and child abuse following an incident on Nov. 10, 2024.
Strotman appeared on video and the judge ordered her to be held in jail without bond. The two charges filed against Strotman on January 2 stem from her alleged abuse of one baby.
At least five state and county agencies are now investigating abuse cases against all seven babies, including Noah Hackey.
Dominique Hackey’s son Noah suffered an unexplained tibia fracture in September 2023 while in the NICU at Henrico County Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Noah is pictured in the NICU
Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 26, has been arrested and charged with abusing one baby. While multiple agencies are investigating the injuries of six other babies who were at one point in the NICU at Henrico County Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond
In the photo: an X-ray of the fracture of Noah’s leg, taken by his father Dominique Hackey
Dominique and Tori Hackey welcomed their twin boys, Noah and Micah, in August 2023. Noah was doing well until Dominique noticed his left leg wasn’t moving.
‘It was a bit discoloured. I told the doctor on staff, had some x-rays taken and we determined he had a broken leg. So we’re going to splint it for the next two weeks and then she said, do you want to hold him?’ Dominique told me WTV.
The couple said they did not want to hold Noah for fear the hospital would blame them for the injury.
“In my head I was thinking, I don’t want them to turn it around on us and say we broke his leg or something like that, so I thought, no, we don’t want to hold him, we’re just going to deal with this,” added Dominique added.
An X-ray showed that Noah’s tibia was broken, and according to Dominique, the hospital suggested the injury was accidental.
Dominique Hackey, (pictured) whose son’s case is currently being investigated by police, says there appears to be only one common thread in all cases: the gender of the victims
“That’s what they told us, that it could be done because an injection was given and maybe they did it too hard and it caused the fracture,” Dominique said.
Dominique said it worried him, so he contacted child protective services. In September, he received a review of their investigation, which found physical abuse of Noah at level one – the worst level in Virginia.
Noah has now fully recovered from the injury.
In October, police informed the Hackeys that other babies had also been mysteriously injured at the hospital in Richmond.
The hospital told the Hackeys that they have implemented preventive measures, such as cameras in the NICU and more training.
But the hospital closed its NICU in late December after measures failed to prevent three more babies from being injured in November and December.
Dominique was present at Strotman’s arraignment, along with three of the other families who had babies who were allegedly abused in the NICU.
The charges against Strotman are not related to the broken bone suffered by young Noah. Investigators still have not confirmed who allegedly abused the baby.
“To that father and that mother, I felt how I felt when I heard my son had a fracture. That I was helpless,” he told WTVR. ‘What this person has done makes me sick. It really makes me sick.’
Strotman, pictured in a cap and gown, is charged with malicious wounding and child abuse. If convicted of both crimes consecutively, she could face up to 30 years in prison
During her hearing Friday, it was confirmed that Strotman was a nurse at Henrico County Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond and was paid until at least Thanksgiving of 2024.
Strotman, who earned her nursing degree in 2019, was working in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) when four babies were injured in the summer of 2023.
Even after the hospital installed cameras to monitor employees, three more babies suffered “unexplained fractures” in late November and December 2024. WRIC reported.
“The maximum statutory penalty for child neglect is 10 years of confinement and the maximum statutory penalty for malicious wounding is 20 years,” Taylor said. If convicted of both crimes consecutively, she could face up to 30 years in prison.
While in jail, Strotman has been ordered to cease contact with anyone under the age of 18. She will appear in court on March 24.
Henrico Doctors’ Hospital’s NICU, which cares for critically ill newborns, has 40 treatment rooms. The hospital delivers around 4,500 babies every year.
Henrico Doctors’ Hospital’s NICU, which cares for critically ill newborns, has 40 treatment rooms. The hospital delivers around 4,500 babies every year
Although hospital officials acknowledge that “fractures occur occasionally,” these fractures appeared to be a cause for concern.
Investigators reviewed video from the NICU to determine whether there was staff misconduct or unreported accidents.
A hospital statement said Friday that the NICU is “not admitting new patients at this time.”
The investigation into the hospital’s practices began in 2023 after a couple who had twins delivered there noticed a broken leg in one of the babies.