An Argentine nurse, Brenda Cecilia Aguero, has been sentenced to life in prison for killing five healthy babies and attempting to murder eight others at a hospital in Cordoba province.
According to AFP reports, the court found that Aguero injected potassium and insulin into the babies between March and June 2022. Prosecutors said she took the substances from emergency medical carts without proper inventory checks.
The babies were born without complications at the Maternal and Child Hospital, located about 600 kilometres from Buenos Aires. However, they later died suddenly, and their deaths were initially unexplained. Eight other babies survived, thanks to quick action by hospital staff.
The sentencing was read out by a court official and shown on Argentine television on Wednesday. Under Argentine law, Aguero will not be eligible for parole until she has served 35 years in prison.
Aguero, who was arrested in 2022, has denied the charges. During the trial, she claimed that authorities had no evidence against her and accused the media of wrongly calling her a “serial killer.”
The case also led to charges against 10 other people, including health officials and medical workers, for trying to cover up the crimes or failing in their duties. Among them were a former health minister and a former hospital director.
Out of the 10, five were found guilty and given lighter sentences. The other five, including the former officials, were acquitted.
