Prosecutors haven’t decided whether to pursue the death penalty against a Harrison nurse charged by state authorities with allegedly killing two patients and injuring a third while she cared for them.

Heather Pressdee, 40, wearing an orange jail-issued jumpsuit and shackles in District Judge Lewis Stoughton’s courtroom, remained silent during her preliminary hearing Tuesday in Chicora, Butler County.

Her parents, Michael and Bonnie, also were in the courtroom. They watched in silence while her attorneys, Phil DiLucente and James DePasquale, waived her right to a preliminary hearing. She faces charges that include two counts of criminal homicide, one count of attempted murder, a count of aggravated assault, three counts of neglect of a care-dependent person and three counts of reckless endangerment.

“Anybody that’s looking at a first-degree murder charge is not ever in a good place,” DiLucente said. “You can look up any adjective you want in the dictionary. This is the definition of ‘sad.’”

DiLucente declined to say whether he was pursuing a plea deal.

Pressdee said nothing to reporters as she was escorted by police to a waiting car outside the magistrate’s court.

She is being held in the Butler County jail without bond.

Pressdee will face formal arraignment July 25 at the Butler County Courthouse. DePasquale said she will not be present.

The state Attorney General’s Office could seek the death penalty but has yet to make that decision, state prosecutor Kee Song said.

“It is still an active and ongoing investigation,” Song said.

Police gather outside the Chicora magistrate office in preparation of a preliminary hearing for Heather Pressdee, a Harrison nurse accused of killing 2 patients by overdosing them with insulin. pic.twitter.com/n5smJhUFVG

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Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said the allegations against Pressdee outline callous abuse of vulnerable patients.

Pressdee is accused of administering insulin to two patients who were not diabetic and to a noninsulin-dependent diabetic at the Quality Life Services-Chicora nursing facility in Donegal Township.

The insulin administration led to medical emergencies for all three patients and caused the death of two, according to state prosecutors.

Pressdee is charged with homicide in the death of a 55-year-old man who died Dec. 4, and an 83-year-old man who died on Christmas Day. The third victim, a 73-year-old man, survived an Aug. 31 insulin administration after an emergency hospitalization.

Pressdee’s numerous other jobs

Song declined to say whether his office has served additional warrants or requested patient records from any of the other 10 facilities where Pressdee worked over the past several years.

In addition to Quality Life, since 2018 Pressdee worked at: Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison; Platinum Ridge Center for Rehabilitation & Healing in Brackenridge; Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Lower Burrell; Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital in Indiana Township; Orchards of Saxonburg in Butler County; UPMC Passavant in McCandless: Concordia at Rebecca Residence in West Deer; Woodhaven Care Center in Monroeville; Premier Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Kittanning; and Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Butler.

Her longest stint was at Belair for about 10 months, from April 2021 to February 2022.

According to police, Pressdee was disciplined at each location for abusive behavior toward patients or staff. She resigned or was fired from each facility.

Pressdee has not relinquished her nursing license, DePasquale said.

Inside the small courtroom, it was standing room only, with about seven of the victims’ family members in attendance. Stoughton, the district justice, gave them a chance to ask questions but everyone declined. They were escorted out the back door of the building to their vehicles when the hearing was complete.

“This is a sad situation on a lot of levels,” DiLucente said. “It is premature to speculate how this will turn out.”

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