Nurse Heather Pressdee, right, allegedly poisoned three patients with insulin, killing two. A wrongful death lawsuit names her in a possible third case, that of Marianne Bower, left. (Bower photo from her obituary; mug shot from Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General)
The family of a woman who died in a Pennsylvania nursing home filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a registered nurse already facing murder and other charges for giving lethal doses of insulin, killing two patients and hospitalizing a third.
The family of Marianne Bower, 68, filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week alleging Heather Pressdee, 41, gave her an overdose of insulin, causing her death on Sept. 28, 2021. The lawsuit alleges administrators at Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, where Pressdee worked, knew about Pressdee’s “alarming history of resident abuse” at her earlier jobs, where she exhibited “abusive tendencies and behavior toward residents and staff,” the lawsuit alleges.
The suit alleges Pressdee’s pattern of behavior and the unexpected deterioration of residents was so troubling that several Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation nursing staff members called her “The Killer Nurse.” The suit alleges the administration became aware of these rumors yet failed to take appropriate action in investigating Pressdee and disciplined and threatened to fire the nurses who discussed Pressdee’s care, court documents state.
“To allow her behavior with patients to go unchecked despite multiple concerns from staff is unconscionable. No one who trusts a facility with their loved one’s care should ever have to experience what Marianne Bower’s family is going through,” said Robert Peirce & Associates Managing Partner Rob Peirce in a statement.
Attorneys for Pressdee did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.
In a statement, Guardian Healthcare said Belair has hiring policies designed to vet the qualifications and background of potential employees. They said they take their responsibility seriously not to employ anyone who has the potential to intentionally harm one of their residents.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the families that have been impacted by Heather Pressdee’s actions and behavior, especially Ms. Bower’s family,” the statement said. “While we cannot comment extensively about Ms. Bower’s residency at Belair due to privacy laws and pending litigation, our top priority is always to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our residents and to employ qualified, caring staff to deliver the care our residents deserve.”
Pressdee was charged in May in the deaths of two men, ages 55 and 83. A third man, 73, survived after emergency hospitalization, prosecutors said. These victims were not named. Pressdee faces charges of murder, criminal homicide, attempted murder, aggravated assault, neglect of a care-dependent person, and reckless endangerment, according to a news release from Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry.
“The allegations in this case outline the callous abuse of incredibly vulnerable patients by a professional nurse,” Henry said. “As the charges indicate, these were deliberate and intentional acts perpetrated by a caregiver who was trusted to care for these victims. Be assured, my office will zealously pursue justice for the families of those who were killed, as well as the third victim who is fortunate to have survived.”
Investigators determined the victims were under Pressdee’s care when they received overdoses of insulin. The two men died on Dec. 4, 2022, and Dec. 25, 2022. The surviving victim was administered a potentially lethal insulin dose on Aug. 31, 2022, prosecutors said. Two of the three men were not diabetic, officials said.
Pressdee allegedly asserted she intentionally did it to stop their suffering, authorities said.
Pressdee said “she felt bad for their quality of life, and she had hoped that they would just slip into a coma and pass away,” the criminal complaint said.
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She allegedly claimed the survivor, who was in COVID-19 isolation and having a difficult time, asked her to kill him.
Pressdee does not face criminal charges in Bowers’ death.
When she was admitted to the facility in March 2020, Bower had multiple sclerosis, and Pressdee was allegedly her nurse, the lawsuit said.
Bower was initially believed to have died of respiratory arrest, but Bower’s family attorneys said in court documents that last month, an agent of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office said Pressdee confessed to administering an “exogenous injection of a lethal dose of insulin” to Bower.
Bower didn’t have diabetes, her family’s lawyer said.
The lawsuit says Pressdee remained employed at Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation until February 2022, when she was terminated for “exhibiting abusive behavior towards residents and other staff.”
In July, the state suspended her license indefinitely because she was charged with criminal offenses and “is an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety.”
Bower’s obituary said she died peacefully while surrounded by her family at Belair. It said she was a wonderful homemaker and a loving mother and grandmother.
“Marianne enjoyed reading, shopping, jewelry and spending time with her family and loved ones,” the obit read. “She will be sadly missed.”
The lawsuit seeks compensation for medical services and supplies incident to the treatment and death of Bower and pain, suffering, embarrassment, humiliation, inconvenience, anxiety, and loss of enjoyment of life.
A status conference in Pressdee’s criminal case is set for Nov. 21, online court records show.
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