Nurse Lucy Letby Found Guilty of Murdering Seven Babies on Neonatal Unit

Nurse Lucy Letby Found Guilty of Murdering Seven Babies on Neonatal Unit: Lucy Letby, a nurse, has been found guilty of murdering seven infants on a neonatal unit, making her the most prolific child serial murderer in the United Kingdom in recent history.

Between June 2015 and June 2016, the 33-year-old was also convicted of attempting to murder six other neonates at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Letby injected neonates with air on purpose, forcibly fed others breast milk, and poisoned two of the infants with insulin.

She declined to appear in court for the most recent verdicts.

They were delivered by the jury over the course of multiple proceedings, but they could not be reported until jurors were released.

On 8 August, after 76 hours of deliberation, the jury foreman read the first set of guilty verdicts. Letby wept as the verdicts were announced.

On August 11, she wept with her head bent as the second set was returned.

Her mother was overheard wailing and exclaiming, “This can’t be right – you can’t be serious” as the families of the infants wailed and gasps.

Letby, a native of Hereford, was acquitted on two counts of attempted homicide.

The jury could not reach a decision on six additional attempted murder allegations.

Nurse Lucy Letby Found Guilty of Murdering Seven Babies on Neonatal Unit

The prosecutor, Nicholas Johnson KC, requested 28 days to determine whether a retrial would be sought for the remaining six counts.

During Letby’s trial, which began in October 2022, the prosecution characterised her as a “calculating and devious” opportunist who “gaslighted” her coworkers in order to conceal her “murderous assaults.”

Following a two-year investigation by Cheshire Police into the alarming and unexplained increase in premature infant fatalities and near-fatal collapses at the hospital, she was found guilty.

Prior to June 2015, fewer than three infant fatalities occurred annually on the neonatal unit.

Her defence team argued that the deaths and collapses were caused by “serial failures in care” in the unit, and that she was the victim of a “system that wanted to assign blame when it failed.”

The trial lasted over ten months and is believed to have been the longest murder trial in the United Kingdom.

When the jury foreman announced that it was impossible to render verdicts on the remaining six counts, a member of the babies’ family departed the courtroom, while a couple of jurors appeared upset.

As the judge dismissed the jury, he informed the panel of four men and seven women that the case had been “extremely distressing and upsetting,” and they were disqualified from future jury duty.

Letby will be sentenced on Monday at the Manchester Crown Court.

She has informed her legal counsel that she does not wish to attend her sentencing hearing or observe proceedings via videolink from prison.

“Violent human”

The judge has not yet disclosed the reasons for her non-appearance.

The Ministry of Justice stated that the Lord Chancellor had made it plain that he wanted victims to see justice served and all convicted individuals to hear society’s condemnation during their sentencing hearings.

“Judges can already order defendants to appear in court, and those who do not face up to two years in prison,” the spokesman added.

Currently, legislation is being examined to compel convicted criminals to present in court for sentencing.

Parents of twin siblings who were among Letby’s 13 victims told the BBC that the nurse was a “hateful human being” who took “everything” from them.

Letby murdered one of their infant sons and attempted to murder the other twin the next day.

According to them, their now-seven-year-old child was severely injured by Letby and has been left with severe learning difficulties and “many complex needs.”

His mother stated, “There is a consequence, and he is living with it.”

Janet Moore, the family liaison officer for the Cheshire Police, stated that it had been a “long, torturous, and emotional journey” for the families of the missing infants.

“We are heartbroken, devastated, angry, and feeling numb,” she said.

We may never know the true cause of this event

Senior Crown Prosecutor Pascale Jones stated that the nurse “did her utmost to conceal her crimes by repeatedly harming infants in her care in a variety of ways.”

She stated that Letby “attempted to mislead her colleagues by claiming that the harm she caused was nothing more than a deterioration of each baby’s preexisting vulnerability.”

“She perverted her education and weaponized her skill in order to cause harm, sorrow, and death.”

While Letby was employed as a neonatal nurse, detectives continued to investigate the care of approximately 4,000 infants admitted to the hospital.

The period spans from January 2012 to June 2016 and involves two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 2012 and 2015.

Only those cases identified as medically concerning would be investigated further, according to Cheshire Police.

They added that there were no fatalities associated with the review at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

The consultant in charge of the neonatal unit where Letby worked told the BBC that hospital administrators failed to investigate allegations against the nurse and attempted to silence physicians.

Dr. Stephen Brearey initially raised concerns about Letby in October 2015, but he stated that no action was taken, and she went on to attack and murder two more infants after attacking five more.

BBC Panorama and BBC News are investigating how Letby was able to kill and injure so many infants for so long.

The hospital’s consultant paediatrician, Dr. Ravi Jayaram, wrote on social media that the truth would “shock you to the core.”

“There are bad people in all walks of life, and many of them are very good at hiding in plain sight,” he stated.

There are also highly compensated individuals in healthcare whose responsibility it is to ensure patient safety.

He expressed relief that the “often-maligned criminal justice system” had “properly worked” this time.

However, he stated that “things need to be revealed about why it took several months after concerns were raised to the top brass for action to be taken to protect babies.”

He added, “And why, from that point on, it took nearly a year for those highly compensated senior managers to authorise police involvement.”

Following her conviction, the government has since ordered an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Letby’s killing rampage.

The Department of Health stated that the inquiry would examine the broader context of what occurred at the hospital, including the management of concerns and governance, as well as the actions taken by regulators and the wider NHS.

Dr. Nigel Scawn, executive medical director of the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, stated that he was “deeply saddened and appalled” by Letby’s crimes prior to the government’s announcement.

He stated that the trust was committed to learning from its mistakes and would provide support to its “devastated” employees.

“We are grateful for the cooperation of our employees, especially those who have testified in the trial on multiple occasions with the utmost professionalism,” he added.

Former hospital medical director Ian Harvey stated that he would assist the investigation “in any way I can.”

“As medical director, I was committed to ensuring the safety of the neonatal unit and supporting our employees.

I wanted the reviews and investigations to be conducted so we could inform the parents of what had occurred to their children,” he said.

Tony Chambers, the former chief executive officer of the hospital, stated that he was “sincerely sorry” for what the families had endured and that he would “cooperate fully and transparently” with any post-trial investigation.

“As chief executive, I prioritised the safety of the baby unit and the well-being of patients and staff,” said Mr. Chambers, who resigned in September 2018 after six years in the position.

“I was receptive and inclusive when responding to information and direction.

“The trial and the extensive police investigation have demonstrated the complexity of the issues at hand.

There are always lessons to be learned, and the best method to do so would be through an independent investigation.

Cheshire Police initiated Operation Hummingbird in 2017, and Letby was apprehended at her Chester residence in July 2018.

Detectives collected 32,000 pages of evidence, combing through volumes of medical records, and interviewed 2,000 individuals, of whom 250 were identified as potential witnesses.

The senior investigating officer (SIO) in the case, Det Supt. Paul Hughes, described the investigation as “unparalleled in scope, complexity, and magnitude.”

The deputy SIO, Det Ch Insp Nicola Evans, characterised the case as “truly crushing,” adding that “there were no winners.”

“The compassion and resiliency exhibited by the parents and extended family has been overwhelming,” she said.

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