Devendra Kumar
Lucy Letby, a 33-year-old nurse, has been convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital in England. The prosecution claimed that Letby was a “calculated opportunist” who took advantage of the vulnerabilities of premature and sick infants to carry out her heinous acts. Between 2015 and 2016, there was a significant increase in the number of babies who suffered serious and unexplained collapses in the neonatal unit, and Letby was the only member of staff present at each of these incidents.
Prosecutors described Letby’s methods as “cold, cruel, and relentless,” using various techniques to harm the babies, including injecting air into their bloodstream, stomach, and poisoning them with insulin. Some of the children were subjected to repeated attempts to kill them, and the trial heard that Letby had a “voyeuristic inclination” and searched for parents of children she had attacked on Facebook.
Letby’s presence at each of the collapses was first mentioned to senior management by the unit’s head consultant in late June 2015, and concerns among some consultants about her behavior increased and were voiced to hospital bosses when more unexplained and unusual collapses followed. However, she was not removed from the unit until after the deaths of two triplet boys and the collapse of another baby boy on three successive days in June 2016.
Letby was arrested in July 2018 and during searches of her home, police found a number of closely written notes, including one in which she wrote “I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them.” The prosecution argued that this note was a confession, and it was read “literally” by the jury.
The jury delivered partial verdicts, finding Letby guilty of attempting to murder two infants by poisoning them with insulin, and later delivered verdicts on further counts, finding her guilty of murdering four babies and attempting to murder two others. She was also convicted of three murders and three attempted murders, and cleared of one count of attempted murder. The jury could not reach verdicts on six counts of attempted murder.
Letby’s sentencing hearing is yet to take place, and a court order prohibits the reporting of the identities of the surviving and dead children who were the subject of the allegations. The convictions raise questions about the care of some 4,000 babies who were admitted to the Countess of Chester and Liverpool Women’s Hospital during Letby’s employment, and a review of these cases is underway.