Pittsburgh Woman Sentenced to Life for Killing Friend's Infant
Nicole Virzi, a 32-year-old doctoral student from San Diego, pleaded guilty to the third-degree murder of her best friend’s 6-week-old son, Leon Katz, in a Pittsburgh court. The plea agreement, reached on October 28, 2026, spared her a potential death sentence but resulted in a prison term of 35 to 80 years. Virzi admitted to intentionally shaking and dropping Leon, as well as injuring his twin brother, Ari, during a visit in June 2024. Prosecutors accepted the plea to spare the grieving family the trauma of a trial.