A nurse has been convicted of killing seven infants and trying to murder six other babies while employed in a hospital’s neonatal department from June 2015 to June 2016.

Lucy Letby, in her mid-20s, worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital when the murders occurred. She is now recognized as the most prolific child killer in modern UK history.

She was convicted through a sequence of partial verdicts that were announced on different days, while the judge imposed restrictions on reporting until the trial concluded.

Letby faced several guilty verdicts, including seven counts of attempted murder, with two of them related to the same baby.

During the announcement of the verdicts, Letby displayed her emotions by shedding tears, and the families of her victims were inconsolable, crying and seeking comfort from one another. Additionally, one of the jury members was visibly emotional, shedding tears and covering their face with their hands.

Additionally, she was acquitted of two charges relating to attempted murder. However, the jury was unable to come to a decision on six additional counts of attempted murder.

Susan, the mother of Letby, couldn’t hold back her tears as her daughter was escorted away from the courtroom following the initial verdicts. She softly murmured to her husband, “you can’t be serious, this can’t be right.”

Letby and her parents were absent from the court as the trial reached its conclusion today.

In a subsequent series of judgments, Letby declined to appear in court and was convicted of additional murders in her absence.

The government has recently mandated a separate investigation into the homicides.

During the extensive nine-month trial, the names of the children were mentioned in the courtroom, but it should be noted that their identities have been kept confidential.

Child L and M, who were twin brothers, were among the individuals harmed by her actions. Letby attempted to harm these infants shortly after their premature birth in April 2016, when they were only a few days old.

In their debut public statement, the parents of the children depicted the nurse Letby as being “exceptionally composed and collected” following her attempt to harm Child M by injecting an excessive amount of air into their body.

“During that moment, her physical cues and actions underwent a complete transformation,” remarked the mother of the twins. She was extremely irritated with us and had to endure her continuous stream of falsehoods.

The father of the boys emotionally recounted how he witnessed doctors desperately attempting to revive Child M in the hospital, describing their efforts as “forcefully pumping his heart like a lifeless toy.”

“We were inexperienced as parents, completely clueless about the situation,” he mentioned. Neither of the parents had any inkling about Lucy Letby back then.

Letby, characterized as cunning and ruthless, has fully twisted her knowledge and utilized any means available to her, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The jury was presented with evidence of the nurse intentionally using medical equipment and medications inappropriately, resulting in sudden collapses of infants during both day and night shifts in the neonatal ward. She targeted both male and female individuals, including a significant number who were born prematurely.

Children O and P, who were part of a set of triplets, were among the last victims of this individual. Unfortunately, both boys passed away in the initial week of their lives, with Child O showing significant liver damage.

According to Pascale Jones from the CPS, Letby violated the trust others had placed in the NHS and shattered the faith that families had in the institution.

“Behind that angelic smile was a much darker side to her personality.”

-Pascale Jones, CPS

Letby faced a trial for the alleged killing of seven infants and the attempted murder of ten others at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Letby refuted all the accusations.

However, it was revealed in court that Letby’s colleagues had concerns about her for more than a year before the hospital management reached out to the police.

According to a healthcare worker, when alarms sounded during the night at the hospital, there was a specific thoughts, common by the staff – “I’m curious if Lucy is on duty tonight.”

Ms. Artell is also concerned that Letby harmed her son, Asa, who received care in the hospital’s neonatal ward as a premature baby. She is urging the police to reopen the investigation into her allegations and those made by other parents.

After today’s verdicts, Cheshire Police have stated that they are currently looking into whether Letby may have harmed other children under her supervision before June 2015.

Letby also dedicated a number of additional years to her work at the Countess of Chester Hospital, along with the time she invested in training positions at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Nigel Scawn, the medical director of the Countess of Chester, expressed deep remorse for the offenses that took place at their hospital. He emphasized that their sympathies remain with the families and loved ones who were affected by the harm or loss of their babies. Understanding the magnitude of their pain is difficult for them.

Ever since Lucy Letby joined our hospital, we have implemented substantial improvements to our services. It is essential for every patient who seeks our care to know that they can trust the quality of our services.
DCI Nicola Evans, the deputy senior investigator assigned to the case, shared her difficulty in comprehending the fact that someone would be causing harm to infants in such a setting.

“It’s completely illogical for anyone to have such a thought,” she remarked.

Cheshire Police carried out a thorough investigation for a span of two years regarding the fatalities of the infants, leading to Letby being charged in November 2020.

Officers have reported that they have reviewed over 500,000 medical and digital records while also providing assistance to the families of the victims, many of whom have personally attended court hearings. DCI Evans remarked that the individuals involved in this investigation will undoubtedly undergo a profound transformation that will leave them fundamentally changed.

During the court proceedings, Letby contended that she was being unjustly accused in order to conceal the shortcomings of the hospital. DCI Evans expressed that it must be extremely difficult for families to come to terms with the fact that no motive has been determined.

“I cannot say for certain if we will ever find an answer to that question, and only Lucy Letby herself holds the key to it”

– DCI Nicola Evans, the deputy senior investigating officer on the case

Letby’s murder trial is widely considered to be one of the lengthiest in the history of British law. It commenced on October 10, 2022, over 10 months ago, and lasted for a duration of 315 days. In comparison, the trial for the murder of Lynette White in 1990 lasted even longer, spanning a total of 197 days.