Nurse arrested on suspicion of trying to kill four newborn babies by ripping out their catheters
Simone Anjos dos Santos detained after hospital passes CCTV footage to police
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Your support makes all the difference.A nurse has been arrested for allegedly cutting the catheter of four newborn babies in an intensive care unit and attempting to kill them, police said.
Simone Anjos dos Santos, 41, was arrested at her home in Santa Cruz after the hospital in Padre Miguel, in the west of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, passed on CCTV footage to the police.
She denies the allegations.
The video appears to show the nurse not wearing gloves and manipulating the incubators which police said were not her responsibility. She is seen grabbing an object from the top of the incubator and allegedly tampering with the infant.
Moments later, another nurse noticed something was wrong with one of the newborn babies and realised the catheter had been cut, Brazilian newspaper O Globo reports.
According to the Rio de Janeiro newspaper, an investigation began after the hospital realised that four catheters had been broken between 14 and 31 January.
In a statement on Twitter, police said the initial assessment found the infants were exposed to the risk of hypoglycaemia and could have contracted a blood infection leading to their death.
At least four victims were identified and the investigation is ongoing.
During a press conference, officer Juliana Emerique said police had demanded an arrest warrant before the trial "to prevent her from continuing these activities".
According to O Globo, Do Santos told police it was another nurse who had been cutting the infants' catheters and claimed that her colleague will be dismissed when the investigation is completed.
A host of people have spoken out in defence of the nurse on social media, according to the paper, highlighting her good character and professionalism.