Ethan Katz and Savannah Roberts have much to celebrate. It’s not only Father’s Day weekend and Ethan’s birthday weekend, but also the couple’s anniversary.
Savannah recently gave birth to their twin sons, now 6 weeks old. Family friend Nicole Virzi traveled from San Diego to Pittsburgh to visit and lend a helping hand. While caring for the twin boys, Ari and Leon, Nicole Virzi tells the parents she noticed unusual injuries on Ari’s genitals.
Around 6:30 p.m., the new parents take Ari to the hospital, leaving their other son, Leon Katz, in Virzi’s care. Just after 11 p.m., Ethan Katz and Savannah Roberts receive a call from Nicole Virzi, informing them that while she was in the kitchen preparing a bottle for Leon, the baby fell from his bouncer seat and hit his head.
Nicole Virzi tells the 911 dispatcher that Leon fell from a bassinet, hit his head, and is becoming unresponsive. When the police arrive, Virzi tells them she fell asleep with the baby in his bouncer seat. When she wakes up, she goes to the kitchen to prepare a bottle. While she is out of the room, she hears Leon screaming and finds him on the floor with a bump on his head. She tells the police he fell out of his bouncer seat.
Rushed to the hospital, doctors discover Leon Katz has a severe skull fracture on the left side of his head and multiple brain bleeds. The injuries suffered by the 6-week-old baby prove fatal, and he is pronounced dead the next morning at Children’s Hospital.
Police say Virzi has no “plausible explanation” for the severity of Leon’s injuries. Upon examining the bouncer seat, detectives report that it is about 18 inches from the highest point of the seat to the floor.
Doctors inform investigators about the injuries sustained by Leon’s twin brother, Ari. He has small scratches on both sides of his face, two bruises below his belly button, and swelling, bruising, redness, and scratches on his genitals. The doctor who examined the injuries to both boys states they are consistent with child abuse, noting that these injuries were inflicted and not accidental. All of Leon’s injuries are described as “acute.”
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Additional Guest
- Dr. Melissa Merrick – President & CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America, www.preventchildabuse.org and www.healthyfamiliesamerica.org’ Facebook & YouTube: Prevent Child Abuse, X & IG: @PCAAMERICA
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[Feature Photo: Elizabeth Virzi/Allegheny County Jail and Ari and Leon Katz/GoFundMe]
