Neonatal nurse Lucy Letby has become the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history after jurors made their final deliberations at Manchester Crown Court.
Letby, 33, originally from Hereford, was convicted of seven counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder.
The child killer, who pleaded not guilty at Manchester Crown Court, murdered her victims at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.
There were a total of 22 counts brought against Letby, with victims identified as Baby A to Baby Q.
In 2015 and 2016, there was a significant rise in the numbers of babies who suffered serious and unexpected collapses.
Prosecutors said the 33-year-old was a “calculated opportunist” who used the vulnerabilities of premature and sick infants to cover her acts.
Letby was the only member of the nursing and clinical staff who was on duty each time the collapses happened.
She used various ways to harm the babies including injecting air into the bloodstream, injecting air into the stomach, overfeeding with milk, physical assaults and poisoning with insulin.
The court heard the “cold, cruel and relentless” band 5 staff nurse subjected some of the children to repeated attempts to kill them.
Seven women and four men deliberated the claims made against Letby.
Concerns among some consultants about the defendant increased and were voiced to hospital bosses when more unexplained and unusual collapses followed, the court heard.
But Letby 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 after a year-long police investigation into high infant mortality rates at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit.
During searches of her address, a number of closely written notes were discovered.
She was charged in connection with the deaths in November 2020.
On one green Post-it note she wrote: “I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them”, “I am a horrible evil person” and in capital letters “I am evil I did this”.
A hand written note found by police in at Letby's home at Westbourne Road, ChesteR
PA
Police carried out a thorough search at the property
PA
Letby was not in the dock as the verdicts were returned as she did not want to come up from the cells.
On Friday, after deliberating for 110 hours and 26 minutes – spread over 22 days – the jury said they could not reach verdicts on six remaining counts of attempted murder in relation to four infants.
After the verdicts were delivered, senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, said: “This has been a highly complex and extremely sensitive investigation over the past six years. We had to go right back to the start, keeping an open mind and being careful not to draw any conclusions.
“The last thing we expected to find was a suspect responsible for these deaths and non-fatal collapses. It was a long, drawn-out process but no stone was left unturned. We had to do it right – not rush it.
“This has been an investigation like no other – in scope, complexity and magnitude.
“We had to deal with this as 17 separate investigations – we are normally used to dealing with one murder or attempted murder investigation at a time let alone something on this scale.
The child killer, who pleaded not guilty at Manchester Crown Court, murdered her victims at the Countess of Chester Hospital
CHESTER STANDARD / SWNS
“What started out as a team of eight quickly increased and, at the height of the investigation, featured almost 70 officers and civilian staff working together – in a bid to unearth the answers that the families so desperately deserved.
“Turning up at the home of a family who have lost a baby, grieved for their loss and are trying to move on from that is difficult enough, but having to tell them that someone who was meant to be caring for their little one could ultimately be responsible for their death – is not an easy task.
“I want to say thank you to the whole investigation team in recognition of all of their dedication and hard work – without you we wouldn’t be in this position today.”Letby’s conviction makes her the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history.
Rose West, who remains an inmate at HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire, killed four children.
Victims included her eight-year-old step-daughter Charmaine and 16-year-old daughter Heather.
The 69-year-old was convicted of 10 murders in 1995, two less than her husband Fred West.