Lucy Letby is a British nurse who was recently convicted of killing seven babies. Out of the seven, five were boys, and two were girls. She is now serving life imprisonment, and people believe that her actions make her one of the UK’s most prolific child killers ever.
The 33-year-old Lucy was a resident of Chester, Liverpool. According to People Magazine, in 2011, she began working in the neonatal unit at Countess of Chester Hospital. Furthermore, her profile appeared in the Chester Standard in 2013. Here, she stated that in her job, she was capable of “caring for a wide range of babies requiring various levels of support.” Between 2015 and 2016, the nurse was accused of murdering seven babies and trying to kill ten more. She reportedly killed her victims by giving them too much milk, fluid, insulin, or air.
Out of the seven infants, two of them were Child P and Child O. The latter suffered from “acute deterioration”. Both babies belonged to a set of triplets, and their sibling, Baby H, was also on the verge of being killed. However, their parents removed them from the hospital, which resulted in Baby H’s speedy recovery.
In her trial, prosecutors stated that Lucy made multiple attempts to kill the babies. Her victims survived several attempts of murder before ultimately passing away. Furthermore, Prosecutor Nick Johnson revealed that ever since she began working in the institute mentioned above, there was a considerable rise in infant deaths. Johnson said, “The collapses of all 17 children concerned were not ‘naturally occurring tragedies. They were all the work, we say, of the woman in the dock. Who we say was the constant, malevolent presence when things took a turn for the worse for these 17 children.”
What was the evidence that proved Lucy Letby’s horrific actions?
Per People Magazine, Prosecutor Nick Johnson claimed that Lucy Letby knew how to hide her crimes. She reportedly sent texts to her friend in which she wrote that she had gone through a meltdown due to something that had taken place at work. After searching her home, officials discovered several Post-it notes that contained suspicious writings. One read “horrible evil person,” while another read, “I haven’t done anything wrong, and they have no evidence, so why have I had to hide away?.”
One of her co-workers, who testified in court, stated that after a baby girl, Child B, went to Letby’s care, her health began declining drastically. Furthermore, everyone in the unit was baffled by the abnormal rise in infant deaths and was aware that something was wrong. The witness said, “Babies can be very poorly quickly, but there is usually some indication that is happening. We had no undue concerns.”
Lucy Letby’s supervisor also testified against her in her trial. She noticed that the 33-year-old was spending way too much time tending to a premature baby while she wasn’t told to do so. Soon after, the baby died. Her supervisor stated, “I asked Lucy to focus on [her designated baby] because I was still concerned about him. However, Lucy went into the family room a few times, and I asked her to come out and leave that family with [the assigned nurse] instead.”
Lucy Letby wrote a sympathy card to a set of parents whose child she murdered
Lucy Letby also reportedly wrote a sympathy card for the parents of one of her victims. In the card, she wrote, “There are no words to make this time any easier. It was a real privilege to care for [child] and get to know you as a family — a family who always put [child] first and did everything possible for her. She will always be part of your lives, and we will never forget her. Thinking of you today and always.”
Letby also maintained a diary where she penned her thoughts. This proved to be major evidence in the case because she wrote the initials of her victims in it. Another document revealed some of her writings besides the names of the babies. Her writings read, “Kill me,” and I don’t know if I killed them. Maybe I did. Maybe this is all down to me.”
Suspicion against the former nurse arose when Cheshire Hospital’s senior doctor, Dr. Ravi Jayaram, noticed her odd behavior. He even notified the hospital administration about it in 2015 and 2016 but was ignored for several months. In his testimony, he revealed that he once saw Letby gazing at a baby who was dying due to low oxygen levels. The infant’s breathing tube wasn’t in its place, and Letby stood unbothered. Even though Jayaram stepped in, the child did not survive.
During Letby’s sentencing, Judge Justice Goss said there was a zero possibility of her getting out of prison early, because of the severity of her crimes. She said, “The order of the court therefore is whole life order on each and every offense and you will spend the rest of your life in prison.” Letby’s trial commenced on October 22 and concluded with her sentencing on August 21, 2023.
Debangshu Nath
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