Black family speaks out after NICU nurse responsible for infant’s broken leg charged with felony abuse
Dominique Hackey's son sustained a broken leg while recovering at the Henrico Doctors' Hospital in Richmond, Virginia.
A former nurse employed at the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, was charged Friday, Jan. 3, with malicious wounding and felony child abuse for allegedly intentionally injuring at least one infant at the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). However, a Black family had reported abuse a year prior.
The Washington Post, which first reported the story, spoke to Dominique Hackey, whose twin boys, Noah and Micah, were born prematurely at 28 weeks old, weighing roughly two to three pounds in September 2023, and required a stay at the hospital’s NICU.
Over the course of their recovery, Hackey said, while one recovered as expected, the other sustained a broken leg.
“I was confused and heartbroken,” the 33-year-old first-time father told CNN in an interview about the incident.
Hackey told the Washington Post, “Before my son knew joy, he experienced pain, and I wasn’t there to protect him.”
Concerned he could be blamed for the injury himself, Hackey even declined to hold his son. Given the mysterious nature of the injury, Hackey’s mother, a director of nursing at another hospital, decided to report the incident to Child Protective Services.
The investigation ultimately ended with the explanation that it may have happened during an injection. Meanwhile, infants placed in the hospital’s NICU continued to get hurt under mysterious circumstances, leading to the arrest of Strotman. The authorities are now looking into seven victims.
Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman has been charged with one count of felony child neglect, which carries a maximum of up to 10 years in prison, and one count of felony malicious wounding for an injury sustained by an infant, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, ABC News reported.
In an official statement, Henrico County Police announced that Strotman’s arrest was in connection to an incident that occurred on November 10, 2024. Other cases of unexplained injuries, including the Hackey’s, have since been reported. Currently, authorities are investigating the cases of seven other infants by combing through hundreds of hours of surveillance footage. They also said it is possible more families may come forward.
Since news of the case broke, many emotions have been stirred online practically among the Black community. Addressing the growing backlash, Eric D. English, Henrico police chief, told CNN the babies were of all different races. However, he did note to CNN that while the babies were all different races, they were all boys.
“Finding out there were seven total was gut-wrenching,” Hackey told the Washington Post after he learned about Strotman’s arrest. He, along with other families, attended Strotman’s arraignment on Friday, where it was disclosed that one baby suffered 12 fractures. The suspect’s next court date is scheduled for March 24.
In the case of Hackey’s sons, he said the twins are better than ever and developing into happy, healthy, and on-the-move toddlers. He also said since the arraignment he and his wife have connected with the other victims and formed solidarity.
“We’ve found that it’s easier to heal together than to try to go through all this individually,” he told CNN. “Especially because there are still a lot of missing pieces and we just kind of have to piece it together ourselves.”
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