UCSD student pleads guilty to killing friend’s 6-week-old son

Nicole Virzi, a 32-year-old doctoral student from the University of California San Diego, pleaded guilty in a Pittsburgh court on Wednesday to third-degree murder. She admitted to killing Leon Katz, the six-week-old son of her close friend, Savannah Roberts. Virzi had initially faced a capital murder charge that carried the possibility of the death penalty. Under the plea agreement, she accepted a sentence ranging from 35 to 80 years behind bars.

Virzi was visiting Pittsburgh in 2024 to help care for Roberts’ newborn twins, Leon and Ari. In June 2024, the twins’ parents took Ari to the hospital after finding wounds on his body. Virzi offered to watch Leon while the parents were away. Later that night, she called police and stated that Leon had fallen from a baby bouncer. Medical staff at a nearby children’s hospital pronounced him dead. Investigators quickly found that the injuries were too severe for a fall from that height and took Virzi into custody.

Court documents describe the death as a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Police also determined that Virzi caused the injuries to Ari that prompted the family to leave Leon in her care. During the legal proceedings, Virzi told investigators that she had always had a compulsion she could not control to harm children. Prosecutors noted that she used her trusted relationship with the Roberts and Katz family to place herself in a position to commit these acts.

Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office stated that after consulting with the family, they agreed to the plea to protect the community’s best interests. Phil DiLucente, a local criminal law attorney and legal analyst for NBC affiliate WPXI, said Virzi must serve the full 35-year minimum sentence before becoming eligible for parole. He noted that it is highly unlikely a parole board would ever release her. DiLucente described the case as bizarre, pointing out that Virzi flew in from across the country to see her best friend and then performed a premeditated act.

Savannah Roberts wrote a letter to Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos, stating that the tragedy has fundamentally changed her. Roberts said she could never have imagined her best friend was capable of such cruelty. She described how her self-confidence is shattered and that she will never forgive herself for failing to protect her babies. Roberts explained that it took nearly a year before she could use the bathroom, shower, or brush her teeth alone after learning that Virzi hurled Leon to the ground on the bathroom floor, fracturing his skull.

Roberts added that Ethan Katz had to stand outside the bathroom door and talk to her while holding Ari so she could see him. She said she has never been able to leave Ari alone with a friend and does not know if she ever will. Both parents are twins and had always dreamed of having twins themselves. An attorney for Virzi was not immediately available for comment. Virzi is scheduled to begin serving her sentence in a state correctional facility.

Leon Katz was six weeks old at the time of his death. Ari Katz, his surviving twin brother, was also an infant when the events occurred in June 2024. The plea deal concluded a case that drew national attention due to the close bond between the defendant and the victim’s family. Virzi’s background as a student at a major university added a layer of shock to the narrative. The legal proceedings focused on the severity of the injuries and the defendant's stated mental state regarding her compulsion to harm children.