During a three-month period in 2022, multiple infants became ill and five died at Hospital Materno Neonatal Ramón Carrillo in Argentina. The first incident occurred in March, and as more infants experienced complications during their hospital stays, it caused concern. Shockingly, investigators found that each emergency occurred when a trusted neonatal nurse, Brenda Cecilia Agüero, was working. A judge recently sentenced her to life in prison.
According to El País, per People, in March 2022, a healthy infant in Agüero’s care suddenly began experiencing cardiorespiratory distress. As the weeks went by and otherwise healthy infants began experiencing serious health issues, two neonatologists made a formal complaint, prompting an investigation.
A short time later, from June 6–7, 2022, two infants died in a single shift and two others nearly died, the Buenos Aires Herald reported, per People. Family members reportedly saw needle prick marks on their babies, which cast further suspicion on hospital staff. During the trial, prosecutors said Agüero injected the infants with high doses of potassium and insulin that caused life-threatening and sometimes fatal arrhythmias.
“She was playing God. She decided who lived and who died,” attorney Daniela Morales Leanza said in court, the Herald reported.
Agüero reportedly underwent psychological and psychiatric evaluations that concluded she had both narcissistic and eccentric traits. The former nurse also reportedly displayed a lack of empathy and found satisfaction in others’ suffering.
“I am not that monster that they have created in the media. I understand the pain of the mothers, but I am not the serial killer that they made everyone believe,” she shared in her last courtroom statement.
Agüero’s trial lasted six months but only required 10 hours of deliberation before the court found her guilty, according to El País and the Buenos Aires Times, as reported by People. The jury ultimately convicted Agüero of five counts of aggravated murder and eight counts of attempted murder. She will complete her sentence at Bouwer Penitentiary and will be eligible for parole in 35 years.
