A Pennsylvania judge refused to suppress statements made by a 31-year-old Ph.D. student in which she allegedly admitted to inflicting fatal injuries on one of her best friend's newborn twins while babysitting.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos on Monday rejected defendant Nicole Virzi's request to preclude jurors from hearing her tell investigators she intentionally shook and dropped the infant multiple times in 2024 until she heard a "crack."

Virzi is charged with criminal homicide in the death of 6-week-old Leon Katz, whom Virzi allegedly killed while babysitting as his parents were at the hospital with his twin brother. She is also facing multiple counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, including allegations that she was responsible for injuring Leon's twin brother. Prosecutors have already said they will seek the death penalty.

Virzi's defense attorneys in November asserted that her potentially inculpatory statements to police — including alleged admissions to intentionally injuring Leon and having an uncontrollable compulsion to "hurt kids" — had been unconstitutionally coerced by detectives after she spent more than 12 hours at the station under extreme circumstances, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

Rangos reportedly reasoned that while in custody, Virzi met with a defense attorney for nearly an hour and spoke with her parents before making the alleged statements.

"The vast majority of time she was in that room,...

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