In the summer of 2023, Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Virginia started noticing newborns in their NICU suffering from unexplained fractures. Things escalated when, a month ago, three more babies had similar injuries. The hospital grew so concerned that it stopped admitting babies to the NICU until they figured out what was going on.
Now, a 26-year-old registered nurse, Erin Strotman, has been arrested and charged with malicious wounding and felony child abuse in connection with one of the cases from November. Police have reopened investigations into several babies who were injured at the hospital in 2023 and 2024, combing through hundreds of hours of surveillance footage to piece together what happened.
One of the families affected is that of Dominique Hackey, whose son Noah was found to have a fractured leg in September 2023, while he was in the NICU. Hackey was devastated, especially since his family had already endured multiple miscarriages and were struggling to keep their twins alive. After Noah’s injury, Hackey and his wife reported it, and investigations were opened, but it wasn’t until months later that Child Protective Services confirmed criminal abuse was involved.
Hackey, who was heartbroken to learn about the other injured babies, spoke out when he realized there were seven in total. He found support from other families who shared their own stories of their babies being hurt in similar ways. Hackey recalled meeting a couple whose child had suffered 12 fractures, which brought him to tears.
Strotman, who had been seen as a kind nurse, was arrested last week. Hackey said he had never suspected her and was shocked to learn of her involvement. Before the arrest, the hospital had already increased security and safety measures in an effort to protect the babies, including more security systems and better training for staff to detect abuse.
The hospital has expressed shock and sadness over the arrest and continues to cooperate with law enforcement. They have also made changes to the NICU, like allowing parents to live-stream their babies’ care.
As for Hackey’s twins, he says Noah is now walking and thriving, though the pain of their early days haunts him. “Before my babies were able to feel any emotion, they felt pain,” he said. “That right there haunts me so much.”
