‘We want justice’: Death of healthcare worker Brittni Iverson ruled homicide

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The death of health care worker Brittni Iverson, just after Thanksgiving, has been ruled a homicide.

Rochester Police confirmed the classification in an email to News10NBC Thursday.

“The Major Crimes Unit has completed their investigation into the homicide of Brittni Iverson. The investigation has been turned over to the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office for review of any potential criminal charges,” according to the department.

News10NBC spoke with Brittni’s father Patrick Iverson on Thursday, following the developments. Iverson said he’s shocked and extremely upset about his loss. One of the big questions he’s left with is how she left the home before police got there.

“The incident started there,” he said. “They allowed someone to come into their facility that didn’t belong in the facility. I feel like they should’ve never allowed Brittni to leave the facility after the incident.”

The case now goes to the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office for review to determine if any charges should be brought forth.

“She was dealing with a lot,” said Iverson. “She lost her mom. She had a lot of pain she was holding inside, but still she was able to keep it going. Brittni was loving, like she loved kids, she loved to help each other she was just jolly.”

Depaul released the following statement in response:

We remain deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and co-worker. Our sincere and heartfelt condolences continue to go out to her family and friends. The safety and well-being of our staff members and residents is always our primary concern. We will fully cooperate with the authorities to ensure that justice will be served.

Iverson died on Nov. 29, a short time after she was in a confrontation inside a DePaul addiction services group home on Dewey Avenue.

At a gathering outside DePaul several days later, Iverson’s uncle Damon Iverson said, “Brittni showed up for work, something happened, and she never made it back home. That’s what we know.”

On Dec. 2, 2022, News10NBC reported that on the previous Tuesday, Nov. 29th, police were called to DePaul for some kind of fight. At the time, RPD said Iverson and the other person or people involved were gone by the time police arrived. That night, RPD was called to Strong Memorial Hospital because Iverson was at the hospital and in critical condition and she died a few hours later.

Iverson was a junior social work student at State University of New York at Brockport.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says there were more than 8,500 acts of violence against health care workers in 2020. The New York State Association of Nurses says violence has been going up for a decade.

After Iverson’s death, family, friends, and coworkers released balloons outside her workplace in her memory.