PA - infant Leon Katz murdered, twin injured, allegedly by babysitter, Pittsburgh- June 24, 2024

[SMK777]

Maybe she thought she was too smart for everyone else and people would believe the "accident" story. MOO.

That’s a good point.

 

[SMK777]

She could be book smart but scattered.
I believe this was deliberate.
She saw a chance to hurt two boys and took it.
Whether that was for pleasure for herself or for further studies on her part, I haven't decided.
She determined the chance was worth it.
Moo.

Right, maybe book smart and over-confident that as a PhD student her accident story would be believed. As @lightofmine99 pointed out.

 

[Curious Me]

True, but was she willing to give up on her PhD and go to prison? How could she possibly think she’d get away with it? Look where she is right now. Is this a good thing to be facing?...

This is just my own list and my own thoughts to try to explain how this could happen to an education-motivated woman just visiting in town and being in a babysitting situation. I don't relate to these necessarily, but there's nothing wrong with viewing it from many different angles in an attempt to determine what I'll call reasons and motives.

Is this​

• the reactions of a inexperienced, frustrated babysitter having major melt downs having been left to care for "uncontrollable" babies on two separate occasions? ​
• some kind of devious, insidious compulsion to harm babies that she had thought about before? Some think this might've been something she planned. Or something she couldn't control.​
• jealousy, revenge, envy, or something to do with the study of depression and some sick impulse to cause depression in the parents?​
• deep-seated unhappiness and dissatisfaction, maybe some kind of (academic) failure, or lack of acceptance, maybe sick of school, a need to act out big time and self-sabotage to ruin her own life. ​
• modship - suspect's family members are off limits, as always>​
• a person being blamed for genital injuries to a baby that she pointed out, and then an accidental fatal accident of the second child she was left to care for?​

I ask these because she's sitting in jail now facing serious charges and her reputation is tainted forever. Her life will probably never ever be the success she expected. We ask-- how could she let all this happen to her life in just a short time visiting friends in PA? ​

All my own speculation and MOO.

 

[Curious Me]

Excellent, comprehensive list. Some of it is reminiscent of the Lucy Letby case and similar cases, in a sense. And all of it pertinent to those of us who have read many true crime narratives and books over the years… added to my post below to respond​

Thanks, @SMK777. Just trying to grasp how and why NV is now facing those serious charges going from a bright future to now possible prison.

Actually, I don't know much or enough about the Lucy Letby case, but many here have mentioned it, and in relation to this case. ​

Pittsburgh police charged Virzi on Sunday with criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

I really want to follow this to trial and I hope there isn't a lot of delays. I hope some locals attend the trial and share with us or there's good reporting. ​

 

[SMK777]

This is just my own list and my own thoughts to try to explain how this could happen to an education-motivated woman just visiting in town and being in a babysitting situation. I don't relate to these necessarily, but there's nothing wrong with viewing it from many different angles in an attempt to determine what I'll call reasons and motives.

Is this​

• the reactions of a inexperienced, frustrated babysitter having major melt downs having been left to care for "uncontrollable" babies on two separate occasions? ​
• some kind of devious, insidious compulsion to harm babies that she had thought about before? Some think this might've been something she planned. Or something she couldn't control.​
• jealousy, revenge, envy, or something to do with the study of depression and some sick impulse to cause depression in the parents?​
• deep-seated unhappiness and dissatisfaction, maybe some kind of failure, maybe sick of school, a need to act out big time and self-sabotage to ruin her own life. <modsnip - sleuthing family
  
  a person being blamed for genital injuries to a baby that she pointed out, and then an accidental fatal accident of the second child she was left to care for?​

I ask these because she's sitting in jail now facing serious charges and her life will probably never ever be the success she expected.

Excellent, comprehensive list. Some of it is reminiscent of the Lucy Letby case and similar cases, in a sense. And all of it pertinent to those of us who have read many true crime narratives and books over the years…

 

[AcerPacer]

Hi, very new to posting so I'm not sure if I'll do this correctly.. from the above post, I think these snippets are the most likely and I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out that all of these are true..

"the reactions of a inexperienced, frustrated babysitter"
"jealousy, revenge, envy"
"deep-seated unhappiness and dissatisfaction, maybe some kind of failure, maybe sick of school"
modship - suspect's family members are off limits, as always>

 

[SMK777]

Hi, very new to posting so I'm not sure if I'll do this correctly.. from the above post, I think these snippets are the most likely and I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out that all of these are true..

"the reactions of a inexperienced, frustrated babysitter"
"jealousy, revenge, envy"
"deep-seated unhappiness and dissatisfaction, maybe some kind of failure, maybe sick of school"

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[steeltowngirl]

This is just my own list and my own thoughts to try to explain how this could happen to an education-motivated woman just visiting in town and being in a babysitting situation. I don't relate to these necessarily, but there's nothing wrong with viewing it from many different angles in an attempt to determine what I'll call reasons and motives.

Is this​

• the reactions of a inexperienced, frustrated babysitter having major melt downs having been left to care for "uncontrollable" babies on two separate occasions? ​
• some kind of devious, insidious compulsion to harm babies that she had thought about before? Some think this might've been something she planned. Or something she couldn't control.​
• jealousy, revenge, envy, or something to do with the study of depression and some sick impulse to cause depression in the parents?​
• deep-seated unhappiness and dissatisfaction, maybe some kind of (academic) failure, or lack of acceptance, maybe sick of school, a need to act out big time and self-sabotage to ruin her own life. ​
• <modsnip - suspect's father is a victim per TOS>​
• a person being blamed for genital injuries to a baby that she pointed out, and then an accidental fatal accident of the second child she was left to care for?​

I ask these because she's sitting in jail now facing serious charges and her reputation is tainted forever. Her life will probably never ever be the success she expected. We ask-- how could she let all this happen to her life in just a short time visiting friends in PA? ​

All my own speculation and MOO.

Good list. I lean towards frustrated babysitter or fear of consequences from the genital injury.

I’d add another: deep-seated anger at one or both of the parents, or of their relationship. Was she trying to set up an injury that she “found” and where one parent would then turn on accusing the other? Did the parents instead call from the hospital in solidarity and start asking NV hard questions - enraging her?

All above is my total speculation.

 

[SMK777]

Good list. I lean towards frustrated babysitter or fear of consequences from the genital injury.

I’d add another: deep-seated anger at one or both of the parents, or of their relationship. Was she trying to set up an injury that she “found” and where one parent would then turn on accusing the other? Did the parents instead call from the hospital in solidarity and start asking NV hard questions - enraging her?

All above is my total speculation.

Good reflections. Could very well be….

 

[TristanP]

My opinion: she’s a psychopath. She had deep resentment toward one or both of the parents. (Was she ever romantically involved with either parent? Or did she want to be? Feelings of betrayal here.)

She planned on hurting the babies or at least one of them to get to the parents. I think she planned to make it look as though the injuries were caused by the parents, which likely means she did whatever she did right after they left. (To make the timeline murky when the medical examiner/doctors tried to create a timeline of the injuries.)

I’m wondering if the deceased twin was actually unconscious or already deceased when the parents returned, but she distracted them with the other baby’s injuries and they left for the hospital without realizing the other baby had been injured too.

I can’t explain why but I have this feeling that she may have bitten the baby’s penis. That would cause redness, swelling, bruising, and possibly abrasions from teeth.

Her goal was to cause great suffering.

 

[Gemmie]

Her goal was to cause great suffering.

Shortened for focus.

What came to mind was to observe suffering.

 

[Cedars]

Actually, I don't know much or enough about the Lucy Letby case, but many here have mentioned it, and in relation to this case.

RSBM

I didn't follow it either but apparently she had such a mixed up head, she compulsively wrote very wordy and dense notes/journal entries of conflicting thoughts/ impulses, including writing down that she'd done the crimes, was evil etc. So conviction was easy.

Many 30 year old women want a partner and family of their own by that stage, whatever their other accomplishments.

JMO

 

[whitelilac]

I've been following but have not posted.

I'd like to bring something up. One of my earliest memories when I was 4 years old was traumatic. My mother was changing my brother's diaper while I was nearby. My mother suddenly out of the blue flew into a rage, as my baby brother had peed during the changing, the stream reached her face. She yelled and slapped my brother, and afterwards realizing what she had done, cried hysterically. I was frightened to the core. She was otherwise a loving kind mother.
Many many years later, that incident was brought up. When my mother was a teen during the Nazi occupation in Europe, she and her sister were assaulted by soldiers, part of the assault was urinating on them after being beaten.
The incident with my brother years later had brought back that repressed memory that caused her to lash out.

So I'm thinking, that taking care of those two babies may have resulted in violence from some kind of trauma NV had experienced in the past. The genital injury is awful and perplexing. It's possible that during a diaper change the twin had peed, it's possible that NV has a thing about self cleanliness, or whatever may have made her hurt him. It may have been due to something that happened with a boyfriend, a relationship, abuse maybe. Or something else entirely that enraged her about the baby, his fussing, his crying, smell, who knows?

As for the poor baby who died of the head injury, IF she is not telling the truth about his falling out of the bouncer, did she want to hurt him because he was a boy, or some other reason...a few that have been proposed above.

What on earth was the motive, what was Lucy Letby's motive?
Jealousy, resentment, misguided rage towards the babies' parents...her father, the pressure of her studies....

All, IF NV was responsible. I lean to she was.

 

[RickshawFan]

I don't know why you can't accept that there would be diaper changes involved in caring for those infants. I'm a parent. It'd be absolutely strange if there weren't diaper changes by NV to make her feel comfortable mentioning genital injuries to the parent. A sitter usually tells the parent's what has occurred when the parents were away. That would make sense that she had been changing diapers and noticed injuries. Otherwise bringing it up would be even more bizarre.

Piecing together the story we were told-- Some out of town guest told the parents about genital injuries. Why would she know or feel comfortable mentioning it? It was a way to try to determine if NV was initially left to babysit one or both twins. She must've had a reason to be seeing the baby's privates and then telling the parents. Why dispute it when it's common sense and logical reasoning. ​

I fear you keep misinterpreting what I’m saying. It’s neither here nor there whether NV was changing diapers. She could have damaged genitals even if she hadn’t changed diapers! So, I don’t see what relevance changing diapers has to do with this criminal charge.
And, yes, I’ve changed diapers on countless infants. It doesn’t require a parent to be familiar with this task.

We also don’t know if there wasn’t an element of sadism in telling parents that their son had injured genitals. This doesn’t take feeling “comfortable” about mentioning it. On the contrary, an evil person might be THRILLED to mention it. And imagine the horror if she HADN’T changed the diapers.

 

[RickshawFan]

This is what I ask, both about the genital injuries and the skull injury: How could she intentionally have done either, knowing they would point straight back to her?? And yet it appears law enforcement believes she did. But why? What did she think to gain? Look where she is now, and where her PhD career is. It’s baffling.

We don’t know if her Ph.D. was already in the tank, though. Perhaps she struck at the couple because of inadequacy or misplaced revenge or envy.
In the universe of Ph.D., it can seem like everyone has one but you. And, if your department is making noises that you won’t make it, this would be very tough.

 

[RickshawFan]

IME, I would expect someone with the surname Katz is likely Jewish, not that it matters if, as you say, by Jewish custom, the circumcision would've happened when the baby was 8 days old. And of course, even if the father is of Jewish ancestry, they may very well do things differently anyway.



"The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Katz is Ashkenazi Jewish..."

from
discover.23andme.com › last-name › Katz

A sadist might think to perpetrate circumcision on an infant without a parent’s permission. This would constitute a genital injury severe enough to require an emergency hospital visit. Just sayin’.

 

[Curious Me]

I fear you keep misinterpreting what I’m saying. It’s neither here nor there whether NV was changing diapers. She could have damaged genitals even if she hadn’t changed diapers!...

Of course, she could've injured his genital area without changing a diaper. However, figure a diaper must've been off the twin for her to know about genital injuries. MOO, anything is possible, so no sense in laboring over it. ​

 

[SMK777]

Of course, she could've injured his genital area without changing a diaper. However, figure a diaper must've been off the twin for her to know about genital injuries. MOO, anything is possible, so no sense in laboring over it. ​

It would seem that there would be no valid reason to see a genital injury unless the diaper was off for a good reason.

 

[SMK777]

My opinion: she’s a psychopath. She had deep resentment toward one or both of the parents. (Was she ever romantically involved with either parent? Or did she want to be? Feelings of betrayal here.)

She planned on hurting the babies or at least one of them to get to the parents. I think she planned to make it look as though the injuries were caused by the parents, which likely means she did whatever she did right after they left. (To make the timeline murky when the medical examiner/doctors tried to create a timeline of the injuries.)

I’m wondering if the deceased twin was actually unconscious or already deceased when the parents returned, but she distracted them with the other baby’s injuries and they left for the hospital without realizing the other baby had been injured too.

I can’t explain why but I have this feeling that she may have bitten the baby’s penis. That would cause redness, swelling, bruising, and possibly abrasions from teeth.

Her goal was to cause great suffering.

If this is true — and it very well might be— I hope somehow the facts will come out. This would make her truly a dangerous sociopath, and not simply someone who had a meltdown under stressful circumstances.

 

[whitelilac]

Do we know anything about her past, her relationships, her friends, any unusual behavior. Have any of her friends spoken out? We know she is respected in her field, but what about in her activities outside of her studies? Is she well liked, is she a loner. Might she be super competitive in her studies? (my daughter was doing her PhD (neuroscience), but after 3 years abandoned that...it was a cutthroat environment, she couldn't stand the competition, the need to excel, produce papers, she even experienced sabotage amongst her cohorts. Quit and went into medicine)

Does NV have close friends, was she involved in any extracurricular activities, does she come across as emphatic and genuinely caring? Or is she a schadenfreude type ? I've known people like that, they are frightening.