Córdoba Neonatal Hospital baby deaths

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Between March and June 2022, unusually high infant mortality rates occurred at a neonatal nursing unit in the Ramón Castillo Neonatal Hospital in Córdoba, Argentina. A series of investigations initially pointed to a hospital-acquired infection or malpractice.[1]

After lengthy investigations indicated that five babies had been poisoned and eight others had suffered an assault, police arrested nurse Brenda Agüero, whom prosecutors later charged with five counts of "aggravated murder for applying the insidious method of potassium incompatible with life."[2] Agüero was later charged with eight other counts of attempted murder.[2][3][4]

The prosecution treats the case as one of a serial killer.[5]

Agüero remains incarcerated awaiting her trial.[6]

Initial investigation[edit]

In early June 2022, the provincial government intervened at the Ramón Castillo Neonatal Hospital after reports of healthy babies dying without cause.[1] Prosecutor Raúl Garzón labelled the case as "enormously grave" but initially indicated that they could have been either cases of malpractice or hospital-acquired infections,[1] and no accusations were made.[7] Nonetheless, Garzón ordered a search warrant on the hospital and relieved twenty employees from their duties.[1]

Police and prosecutors began to suspect that there had been foul play when no more deaths occurred after the suspension of those twenty employees.[8][1] On the same day that the hospital was searched, authorities suspended the head of the hospital.[8] The investigation was prompted by a doctor who refused to sign the death certificates of two healthy babies who died on the same day of June 2022; allegedly the two last babies to die from external cause (murder).[9]

As the search warrant was served, the prosecution asked for the exhumation of the remains of the deceased babies, whose autopsies showed abnormal levels of potassium, which medical investigators attributed to being deliberately injected to the babies, as said levels of potassium are not normally produced by the body.[10] Further investigations showed that the babies had not been injected with the potassium via IV method, but instead, that they had received the injections in their backs and with clothes on, while they were at the resuscitation room.[11]

On the same day that police announced the arrest of nurse Brenda Agüero, the minister of health of Córdoba, Diego Cardozo, resigned to his position after heavy criticism for his handling of the case. Cardozo said that he had presented his resignation with the goal of helping clarify and serve justice in the case. Governor Juan Schiaretti assigned the ministry to María Gabriela Barbás.[12]

In February 2023, the head of the hospital, 70-year-old Liliana Asís, was arrested and accused of concealing the unnatural deaths of the babies to the authorities. She was granted house arrest in May 2023 due to her deteriorating health while in prison.[13][14] Along with Asís, more officials and local politicians, were indicted for either concealment or wrongdoing.[14]

Hospital report[edit]

After the hospital was intervened, the nursing personnel decided to conduct their own investigation, tracing clinical reports, inventory of pharmacological drugs, and the shifts taken by each nurse during the span of the deaths. Among the discoveries, the head of the pharmacy of the hospital found that there was a faulty report on 20 vials of potassium for the month of June, when three of the deaths occurred. Other nursing personnel reported that Brenda Agüero was raising suspicions among the nurses because of her odd behavior interacting with others, including that she volunteered to undress babies for their routinely check-up. This task was assigned to another nurse, and not to Agüero. Her colleagues also reported to police that Agüero usually dressed in long sleeves, including on hot summer days, coinciding with the prosecution's accusation.[15]

Arrest of Brenda Agüero[edit]

On 20 August 2022, police announced the arrest of Brenda Cecilia Agüero (born 1995 in Buenos Aires);[16] a nurse who worked in the neonatal unit and who had been among the suspended personnel during the initial investigation.[6] Agüero lived with her mother and two sisters in the outskirts of Río Ceballos, Córdoba, at the time of her arrest.[17]

Agüero graduated as a nurse with excelling results in 2018 and moved to Córdoba, where she worked at a private hospital between 2019 and December 2020, when she resigned to keep her only job at the Ramón Castillo Neonatal Hospital.[18] Agüero denied the accusations and abstained from testifying.[19]

Days after her arrest, Agüero was formally charged with five counts of "aggravated murder for applying the insidious method of potassium incompatible with life." and eight counts of attempted murder.[2] Agüero later accused a colleague of hers of the deaths, saying that this male nurse was present where the deaths occurred "all the time."[20]

Pre-trial proceedings[edit]

The first evidence that the prosecution introduced against Agüero, was immediately after her arrest, alleging that Agüero was behind every case, both deaths and decompensations, and that Agüero herself was in the place of the incidents, further alleging that she was the one who notified the doctors and other medical personnel that an emergency with a newborn was underway. On the same day that the prosecution introduced their first accusation, the court in charge of the pre-trial procedures, ordered psychiatric and psychological evaluations of Agüero, to later dictate pre-trial detention.[21]

In January 2023, the psychiatric evaluators determined that Agüero knows right from wrong and that she does not suffer from any mental disorder. The psychiatrists further argued that Agüero tried to "manipulate the interview" and that she has difficulties in regards to feeling what others do. After the evaluation, Agüero's indictment was confirmed.[22]

The prosecution alleged that in November 2021, Agüero searched on Google "how to dose potassium and insulin injections in newborns."[23] Agüero denied that she searched "how to apply potassium injections" in Google and alleged that she does not have the knowledge to perform such procedure.[20]

Another accusation argued that Agüero concealed the syringes with which she allegedly injected the babies with potassium, under her sleeves, with other medical personnel noting that she went to work with long-sleeved shirts even on hot summer days. According to prosecutor Garzón, Agüero did so as a modus operandi while she visited the resuscitation room with the newborns in arms.[11] In April 2023, the prosecution added the testimony of the mother of one of the babies who survived the assault. The woman personally accused Agüero and placed her at the side of her baby when the baby decompensated.[24]

On 9 August 2023, prosecutor Garzón said that the investigation had entered "its final phase," adding that his office had received reports from other two suspicious deaths of babies. Garzón also said that before going to trial, the prosecution would add more testimonies and witness evidence.[25]

On 23 August 2023, the prosecution released the results of the investigation of Agüero's cellphone, where investigators found nine PDF files. Among the nine files, the prosecution said that information was found on how to dose potassium, information related to cardiac arrests, numerous pages of neonatal medications, CPR manuals, and an article on how should medical personnel react to families grieving a newborn.[9] Agüero's defense argued that these files were not downloaded by Agüero herself, but instead, sent to her via WhatsApp.[9]

In September 2023, the prosecution added the analysis by a team of criminal profilers who determined that the killings were acts of serial murders and that a single perpetrator was behind them. Without mentioning Agüero, prosecutor Garzón said that the analysis will be a key to the cause, because the profilers also pointed to a person with access to the babies and who did not initially raise any suspicion.[26]

In late September 2023, prosecutor Raúl Garzón petitioned for the case to be taken to court for trial. The defense of Brenda Agüero announced that they would appeal the petition.[27]

As of March 2024, Agüero remains incarcerated awaiting her trial, being the only defendant in the case. The trial date will be set after a control judge decides on Agüero's appeals against prosecutors' attempts to take her to trial,[28] where she faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for at least 50 years.[29]

Trial of officials[edit]

While not charged with any accusation in relation to the murders, several officials were ordered to stand trial in connection with negligence, including signing the death certificates of healthy babies who had died under suspicious circumstances. In November 2023, the case of these six officials was elevated to trial.[30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Investigan la muerte de cinco bebés en el Hospital Neonatal de Córdoba: separaron a más de 20 empleados" [Deaths of five babies investigated in the Neonatal Hospital of Córdoba: more than 20 employees on leave]. Infobae (in Spanish). 11 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Neonatal: piden agravar la imputación a la enfermera Brenda Agüero" [Neonatal: more serious charges sought for nurse Brenda Agüero]. LMDiario (in Spanish). 14 March 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  3. ^ "'Angel of death': Argentinian nurse arrested for murdering healthy newborns". WION. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Argentine nurse held in deaths of healthy babies: Prosecutor". Al Arabiya. AFP. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  5. ^ "La enfermera sospechosa, con perfil de "asesina serial"" [The suspected nurse, with the profile of a "serial killer"]. elancasti.com (in Spanish). 6 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Quién es Brenda Agüero, la enfermera detenida por el asesinato de los bebés en Córdoba" [Who is Brenda Agüero?, the nurse arrested for the murder of babies in Córdoba]. Página/12 (in Spanish). 21 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Qué se sabe hasta ahora sobre la muerte de bebés en el Hospital Neonatal de Córdoba" [What is known so far about the deaths of babies in the Neonatal Hospital of Córdoba]. CHEQUEADO.com (in Spanish). 18 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b Origlia, Gabriela (11 August 2022). "Conmoción en Córdoba: investigan la muerte de 10 bebés en un hospital" [Commotion in Córdoba: more than 10 baby deaths investigated at a hospital]. La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Magnani, Rocío (23 August 2023). ""Potasio", "paro cardíaco" y "duelo": qué tenía en su celular la enfermera detenida por los bebés muertos en Córdoba" ["Potassium", "cardiac arrest" and "grief": what the cellphone of the nurse detained for the deaths of babies in Córdoba had]. Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Muerte de bebés en Córdoba: qué se sabe hasta ahora de la investigación en el hospital Materno Neonatal" [Death of babies in Córdoba: What is known so far about the investigation at the Maternal Neonatal hospital]. La Nación (in Spanish). 13 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Bebés muertos en Córdoba: para el fiscal, la enfermera les inyectaba potasio con la ropa puesta y por la espalda" [Dead babies in Córdoba: for the prosecutor, the nurse injected the potassium with clothes on and in the back]. Clarín (in Spanish). 13 November 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Muerte de bebés en Córdoba: renunció el ministro de Salud, Diego Cardozo" [Deaths of babies in Córdoba: Minister of health Diego Cardozo resigned]. Página/12 (in Spanish). 20 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Detuvieron a la exdirectora del Hospital Neonatal de Córdoba por las muertes de cinco bebés" [Former head of the Neonatal Hospital in Córdoba arrested for the deaths of five babies]. Télam (in Spanish). 24 February 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  14. ^ a b "La ex directora del Hospital Neonatal accedió a la prisión domiciliaria" [The former head of the Neonatal Hospital granted house arrest]. LMdiario (in Spanish). 15 May 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  15. ^ Chuit Roganovich, Roberto (25 April 2024). "La luz infinita, una crónica sobre los cinco bebés asesinados en el Hospital Materno Neonatal" [The infinite light, a chronicle about the five murdered babies at the Neonatal Maternal Hospital]. La Tinta (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Exclusivo: "Ella no colocaba inyecciones", asegura la familia de la enfermera" [Exclusive: "She did not apply injections", assures the family of the nurse]. Cadena 3 (in Spanish). August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  17. ^ "La peor confirmación sobre los bebés muertos en Córdoba y la enfermera" [The worst confirmation about the dead babies in Córdoba and the nurse]. Mendoza Post (in Spanish). 22 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Bebés asesinados en Córdoba: el perfil de Brenda Agüero, la enfermera acusada de matarlos y la nueva pista de un grupo de Whatsapp" [Babies murdered in Córdoba: the profile of Brenda Agüero, the nurse accused of killing them and the new clue of a WhatsApp group]. INFOVELOZ (in Spanish). 6 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Neonatal: la enfermera Brenda Agüero negó las acusaciones" [Neonatal: nurse Brenda Agüero denied the accusations]. El Diario de Córdoba (in Spanish). 13 December 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  20. ^ a b "La enfermera acusada de asesinar a cinco bebés en Córdoba rompió el silencio y apuntó contra un compañero" [The nurse accused of killing five babies in Córdoba broke silence and accused a colleague]. TN (in Spanish). 26 December 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  21. ^ Romero, María Ester (11 September 2022). "La investigación pone foco en movimientos y actitudes de la enfermera Brenda Agüero" [The investigation focuses on the movements and attitudes of the nurse Brenda Agüero]. Perfil (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Las pericias complicaron a la enfermera acusada por la muerte de cinco bebés en Córdoba" [The evaluations complicated the nurse accused of the deaths of five babies in Córdoba]. TN (in Spanish). 19 January 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  23. ^ ""Cómo dosificar potasio": la búsqueda de Google que complica a la enfermera acusada de matar bebés en Córdoba" ["How to dose potassium": the Google search which complicates the nurse accused of killing babies in Córdoba]. Perfil (in Spanish). 31 October 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Muerte de bebés en el Hospital Neonatal de Córdoba: la mamá de una nena que sobrevivió complicó a la enfermera" [Deaths of babies in the Neonatal Hospital of Córdoba: the mother of a baby girl who survived complicated the situation of the nurse]. TN (in Spanish). April 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  25. ^ Clariá, Miguel (9 August 2023). "Muertes de bebés en el Neonatal: a un año, la causa entra en su etapa final" [Deaths of babies in the Neonatal: one year on, the case enters in its final phase]. Cadena 3 (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Neonatal: Aseguran que los bebés fueron asesinados en serie y podría agravarse la situación de Brenda Agüero" [Neonatal: They assure that the babies were murdered in series and the situation of Brenda Agüero could be aggravated]. Radio Mitre (in Spanish). 19 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Neonatal: la defensa de Brenda Agüero apelará la elevación a juicio" [Neonatal: Brenda Agüero's defense will appeal the elevation to trial]. CYJ (in Spanish). September 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  28. ^ Ferreyra, Andy (18 March 2024). ""Estoy destruida, esperando el juicio": a dos años del primero de los cinco bebés asesinados en el Neonatal" ["I'm destroyed, waiting the trial": Two years since the first of five murdered babies in the Neonatal]. Perfil (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  29. ^ Péret, Juan (29 September 2023). "Paulo Kablan contó cómo es el perfil de la enfermera que asesinó a 5 bebés y ahora será juzgada" [Paulo Kablan spoke about the profile of the nurse who murdered 5 babies and who will now be tried]. Gente (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  30. ^ "Irán a juicio los funcionarios implicados en la causa de la muerte de bebés en Córdoba" [Officials involved in the case of the deaths of babies in Córdoba will go to trial] (in Spanish). Télam. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
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