A nurse was arrested accused of homicide for the death of healthy babies born in an Argentine hospital, the prosecutor instructing the case reported this Saturday.
Brenda Agüero, 27, was arrested on Friday by order of prosecutor Raúl Garzón, in charge of investigating the deaths of five newborns that occurred at the Maternal Neonatal Hospital in Córdoba, 700 km northwest of Buenos Aires.
The prosecutor specified in statements to the Cordovan press that the nurse is charged with the death of two babies pending reports of medical records of the other three.
“The babies died because the substance found in their bodies is incompatible with life. One of the elements being studied is excess potassium,” the prosecutor said.
The deceased babies had been born healthy and their mothers were in good health at the time of delivery.
The deaths occurred between March and June, but the case came to light two months later following a complaint filed by the grandmother of a baby who died on June 6.
The cause covers 13 cases, the five deceased and eight newborns who were left with sequelae, he said.
“There are reasons to presume” the responsibility of the patient, said Garzón. “The penal figure that I attribute to him is intentional,” he specified.
The nurse, who has been working at the hospital since December 2020, is one of the nine people who were removed from their duties ten days ago when the investigation was opened to determine whether there was praxis, homicide or negligence.
“We are devastated as a family. We were trying to overcome and mourn a natural death and now we find out that they took our son from us, that they killed him,” Raúl Aragón, father of one of the deceased, cried out to radio Cadena 3 de Cordova.
The prosecutor also charged three former directors of the hospital with omission of the duties of a public official, a crime that does not contemplate arrest.
