A British nurse was found guilty of murdering seven newborns and attempted to murder six more at the hospital where she worked, making her the country’s deadliest baby serial killer in recent history.
Lucy Letby, 33, damaged newborns in her care by injecting air into their blood and stomachs, overfeeding them with milk, attacking them physically, and poisoning them with insulin, according to evidence presented at Manchester Crown Court in northern England.
Letby murdered a baby boy named Child E in one case by injecting air into his veins, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency. The next day, she attempted to poison his identical brother, Child F, with insulin.
A court injunction safeguards the identities of the children implicated in the charges against Letby, including those who died or survived while in her care.
During their investigation, police discovered a cache of handwritten notes in Letby’s home, including one that read: “I am evil, I did this.”
Between 2015 and 2016, she surreptitiously attacked 13 newborns on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Prosecutors claimed that her purpose was to kill the newborns while deceiving her colleagues into believing there was a natural cause of death.
Letby’s acts, according to Pascale Jones of the CPS, were a “complete betrayal of the trust placed in her.”
“Lucy Letby sought to deceive her colleagues and pass off the harm she caused as nothing more than a worsening of each baby’s pre-existing vulnerability,” she explained.
“In her hands, seemingly harmless substances such as air, milk, fluids, or medication such as insulin would become lethal.” She corrupted her education and weaponized her craft in order to cause hurt, grief, and death.”
Families of the victims stated they “may never truly know why this happened.”
“To lose a baby is a heartbreaking experience that no parent should ever have to go through,” a joint statement said.
“However, losing a baby or having a baby harmed in these circumstances is unimaginable,” the statement continued.
Nurse have said ‘I killed them’ in handwritten notes
Letby was arrested twice by police in 2018 and 2019 in connection with their probe, according to PA. She was arrested once more in November 2020.
During searches for Letby’s address, authorities discovered notes she had written.
“I don’t think I deserve to live. “I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them,” she said in one document, adding in another, “I am a horrible evil person” and in bold letters, “I am evil and I did this.”
According to PA Media, the mother of Children E and F stated in court that she “completely” trusted Letby’s recommendations.
She did, however, say she “knew there was something wrong” when her baby, Child E, began crying in the intensive care unit one night.
Before Letby murdered Child E, he began bleeding when she attempted to assault him.
“It was a sound that should not have come from such a tiny baby,” the mother testified in court. “I’m not sure what the sound was. It was heinous. “It was more of a scream than a cry.”
Following Child E’s death, there was no post-mortem examination. The mother stated that she believed he died of natural causes.
Letby later attempted to kill her twin son, Child F, with insulin poisoning.
Consultants have been instructed to apologize for expressing concerns.
According to the court, doctors at the hospital began to observe an increase in the number of babies dying or collapsing unexpectedly.
Concerns voiced by specialists about the increasing mortality rate of patients under Letby’s care, however, were originally disregarded by hospital management, according to PA Media.
Letby filed a claim against her employers in September 2016 after being transferred from the hospital’s neonatal ward. In June 2016, she was reassigned to clerical tasks after two male triplets died and a baby boy fainted three days in a row.
The Royal College of Nursing union informed her of the claims against her later that year, but the issue was subsequently handled in her favor. Doctors were instructed to write a formal apology to Letby.
She was supposed to return to the neonatal unit in March 2017, but she never showed up. The hospital trust alerted the police, who launched an inquiry.
‘I’m heartbroken, devastated, and outraged.’
The UK government has called for an independent investigation into the murders, including “how concerns raised by clinicians were dealt with.”
The investigation will look into the “circumstances surrounding the deaths and incidents,” according to a government statement issued on Friday.
It will also examine the actions taken by authorities and the British National Health Service in response to concerns about Letby.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay promised that the voices of the victims’ parents would be “heard” during the investigation, noting that there are many questions to be answered.
“Justice has been served, and the nurse who should have been caring for our babies has been found guilty of harming them,” the relatives of the victims said in a joint statement on Friday.
“However, this justice will not take away the extreme hurt, anger, and distress that we have all had to endure,” the statement continued.
“We are heartbroken, devastated, angry, and feeling numb.”
Letby will be sentenced on August 21 at Manchester Crown Court.