Police have made an arrest in the case involving seven babies with bone fractures at the same Virginia hospital’s NICU. A woman was arrested in connection to one instance of abuse in November 2024. News of the story broke in early January 2025. After hearing that the hospital had paused admissions to its neonatal intensive care unit because several babies had unexplained bone fractures, one family spoke up.
Police have been investigating the incidents, which reportedly began in 2023. Police determined that the suspect, who was accused of child abuse, must have been an employee. The hospital confirmed that the woman who was arrested is a former employee.
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The police have connected the suspect with one incident.
In a news release that People published, Henrico County Police confirmed 26-year-old Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman is a suspect in the case.
“Ms. Strotman faces charges of malicious wounding and felony child abuse in connection to an incident that occurred in November 2024,” the release noted.
Police are still investigating the incidents.
According to officials, police are “reviewing dozens of videos from inside the NICU. As previously mentioned, detectives are re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of this broader investigation.”
“We appreciate the families’ and public’s patience as we work as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases,” Henrico Chief of Police Eric D. English said, per the release.
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Strotman used to work at the hospital.
HCA Virginia, which owns Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, confirmed to People that the woman is a former employee.
“We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally impacted by this investigation,” the statement reads.
“We are grateful to those colleagues, who have dedicated their professional lives to the care and safety of our patients, as well as to law enforcement and the other agencies who have worked aggressively and tirelessly with us on this investigation,” the statement continued.
The hospital has been open about the ongoing investigation.
In December, the hospital released a statement about the investigation on its website. “We initiated a thorough internal investigation, informed the families and notified the proper authorities and regulatory agencies and worked collaboratively with them on their investigations,” the statement reads.
“While fractures occasionally happen with pre-term babies since they lack full fetal bone development, we are actively working to determine how these fractures occurred,” it noted. The hospital also assured the public that it had “taken immediate steps to enhance safety measures.”
The statement continues, “The safety of our NICU babies is our highest priority and we are actively working to pursue additional precautions to prevent any future incidents.”
