A court in Argentina has sentenced a nurse, Brenda Cecilia Aguero, to life imprisonment after finding her guilty of murdering five newborn babies and attempting to kill eight others at a provincial hospital. The shocking crimes occurred between March and June 2022 at the Maternal and Child Hospital in the Cordoba province, 600 kilometers (approximately 370 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires.

Chilling Pattern of Deliberate Injections

According to prosecutors, Aguero, a registered nurse at the time, administered lethal doses of potassium and insulin to otherwise healthy newborns. She reportedly accessed these substances from emergency medical carts that lacked proper inventory control, allowing her to bypass detection for months.

Investigators revealed that the babies—born full-term and in good health—died unexpectedly under suspicious circumstances shortly after birth. In nearly every instance, the infants suffered from sudden heart failure or severe hypoglycemia, symptoms consistent with overdoses of potassium or insulin.

Medical staff initially suspected natural complications. However, as the number of unexplained deaths rose, families demanded answers, prompting a deeper investigation that exposed a harrowing pattern.

Life Sentence and Additional Convictions

The verdict was delivered following an extensive trial that shocked Argentina and raised questions about hospital oversight and institutional accountability. The court found Aguero guilty on five counts of murder and eight counts of attempted murder. Her actions were deemed methodical and deliberate, targeting babies without medical justification.

Aguero, arrested in August 2022, has consistently denied the charges. During her defense, she accused the media of framing her as a “serial killer” and insisted that prosecutors lacked definitive proof. However, forensic findings, witness testimonies, and circumstantial evidence weighed heavily against her.

The court’s ruling ensures Aguero will spend the rest of her life in prison.

Broader Hospital Scandal: Ten Others on Trial

The trial extended beyond Aguero, implicating ten additional individuals—ranging from senior hospital staff to former provincial health officials—on charges of cover-up and dereliction of duty.

Among those charged were:

• The former provincial Health Minister

• The former Secretary of Health for Cordoba province

• The former director of the Maternal and Child Hospital

Prosecutors accused the officials of failing to act promptly when the initial deaths occurred and of attempting to suppress internal reports that raised concerns about Aguero’s conduct. Allegedly, despite warnings from doctors and staff about irregularities, hospital administrators chose not to escalate the issue to law enforcement until months later.

In total:

• Five of the ten co-defendants were convicted and received lesser sentences for their roles in negligence and concealment.

• Five others, including the senior provincial officials, were acquitted due to insufficient evidence proving direct involvement or intent to obstruct justice.

Local media outlet Infobae reported that the court cited systemic lapses in oversight and poor emergency protocol management as contributing factors to the delayed response, but said there was not enough to convict some of the higher-level officials of criminal cover-up.

National Outcry and Calls for Reform

The case has prompted widespread outrage across Argentina. Families of the victims have demanded sweeping reforms in hospital governance, stricter drug inventory control, and mandatory psychological evaluations for personnel in sensitive medical roles.

Health watchdogs and civil rights groups are now calling on provincial authorities to conduct an independent audit of all neonatal deaths across the region in the past decade to ensure no similar cases went unnoticed.

Cordoba’s government, under mounting pressure, issued a public statement expressing condolences to the families and promising an administrative overhaul of Maternal and Child Hospital’s operational systems. They also pledged to cooperate with ongoing reviews into provincial health management standards.

Motive Still Unclear

Despite the conviction, Aguero’s motive remains unclear. The prosecution did not present a definitive explanation for why she targeted newborns. Mental health assessments conducted during the investigation did not result in an insanity defense, though some reports suggested she showed signs of emotional detachment and a possible personality disorder.

Legal analysts believe the absence of a clear motive complicated the case but did not prevent conviction due to the overwhelming pattern of evidence.

A Grim Reminder of Medical Power and Responsibility

This case has resurfaced global concerns about the safety of newborns in hospital settings, the mental health of healthcare professionals, and the potential consequences of weak accountability mechanisms. It echoes similar incidents in other countries, including high-profile cases in the UK and the US where medical staff were convicted for intentionally harming patients under their care.

In Argentina, the verdict serves as both a legal reckoning and a cautionary tale. As the country grapples with the aftermath, advocates hope it will spur reforms to ensure hospitals are places of healing—not harm.

The convicted nurse, Brenda Aguero, is now one of the few women in Argentina’s modern history to receive a life sentence for crimes committed in a medical facility. The five infants whose lives were cut short by her actions, and the eight others who narrowly survived, remain at the center of a national tragedy that continues to unfold.