IS LETBY Or did the jury get it wrong?
Diary entries and there
The appalling crimes of killer nurse Lucy Letby shocked the nation. The 34-year-old murdered seven babies at the Countess of Chester hospital – and tried to kill another seven newborns.
Yet despite being found guilty at two trials – and locked up for life – questions are now being raised over the safety of her convictions.
So is Letby the worst child serial killer in
British history, or the victim of an astonishing miscarriage of justice?
JOHN SIDDLE examines the damning evidence and emerging doubts...
THE ‘ANGEL OF DEATH’
Lucy Letby, from Hereford, was branded a “covert narcissist” who undertook a “cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of child murder” in 2015 and 2016.
She deliberately injected air into babies’ stomachs and veins, causing them to collapse.
Others were found to have had their tiny stomachs pumped with milk.
Two babies were injected with insulin, which prosecutors claimed was clear evidence of an “intention to kill”.
Hundreds of confidential medical documents were found at her home, and Letby searched for victims’ families on Facebook.
‘I AM EVIL’
Detectives uncovered an apparent confession by Letby when they raided her semi-detached home in Chester.
The nurse had written an entry in her teddy bear diary describing herself as a “horrible evil person” writing in capital letters: “I AM EVIL. I DID THIS.”
Letby scrawled on another green Post-it note: “I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough. I will never have children or marry or know what it’s like to
have a family.” Another entry suggested a God complex: “How do some sick babies get through and others die so suddenly and unexpectedly? Guess it’s how it’s meant to be.”
‘ALWAYS ON DUTY’
A chart revealed Letby was always on duty when babies in the neonatal unit collapsed and died.
Each of the other 38 nurses at the Countess were in attendance just a handful of times across the 13-month spree. No other staff member was present more than
seven times. Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC told jurors how “by a process of simple elimination” only one person could be responsible.
KILLED BABIES ‘IN GOOD HEALTH’
The newborns who died or were harmed were described as being in relatively good health – despite being born prematurely.
Infants were described as being “stable”, “doing well” or “excellent” – with no suggestion that they would suddenly fall critically ill.
Of one baby, described as a “well infant”, four medical experts concluded his death was consistent with the “deliberate injection” of air.
A WEAK DEFENCE
Despite insisting on her innocence, Letby’s defence team struggled to explain the deaths.
The only witness they presented was a plumber who claimed that he had seen sewage emerge from a sink – suggesting the discharge may be linked.
And why, when Letby left the neonatal unit in June 2016, had infant deaths seemed suddenly to stop?