From June 2015 to 2016, Lucy Letby allegedly murdered 'seven babies' and attempted to 'kill 10 others' at Countess of Chester Hospital where she worked. The county in north-west England has been in a state of shock since the news broke.
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Since her arrest and during her trial which is currently happening, Letby has always denied the allegations. The jury composed of 4 men and 8 women now has the difficult task of figuring out 'who is and who isn't telling you the truth.' On 10 July 2023, the jury 'retired to consider their verdicts' after a trial that has been going on for the past nine months.
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Nurse allegedly attacks premature babies
Lucy Letby was 25 years old at the time of the crime, and worked in the hospital's newborn intensive care unit. She is believed to have murdered newborns by injecting air into the tubes of premature babies. She is also suspected of 'sabotaging' the feeding tubes as well as 'injecting them with Insulin.'
The young woman would act when the parents were away, or when the nurse in charge was not around, usually at night.One of her alleged victims was only 24 hours old when Lucy decided to attack. She allegedly injected her with air, killing her in just 90 minutes, before trying to kill her twin sister the following day.
A hand written note in her home as damning evidence
It was in 2018 that the authorities arrested the young woman, who has always denied the facts. During her trial, Letby said:
I only ever did my best to care for them. I’m here to help and to care, not to harm
Her defense is also based on insisting on theincompetence of senior doctors at the hospital. Lucy Letby claims that they are trying to blame her for their mistakes. The Guardian reports that during the trial the defense has claimed that the victims were 'the victims of poor care and that they should have been receiving specialist treatment elsewhere.'
On the stand, Lucy Letby declared that 'her whole world had stopped' since she was accused of the 'sickening crimes.'
While it is now time for the jury to come to a verdict, they must consider all evidence. The most damning piece of evidence is a hand written note that says:
I am evil, I did this
The note was revealed on Day 4 of the trial when prosecutor Nick Johnson KC told jurors about a 'series of notes the police found.' On one of those notes, you can read what can look like a confession of guilt. It says:
I don't deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I'm not good enough to care for them.
Letby has denied that the notes were about the murders but instead claims that they are about 'disciplinary proceedings at work.'
Letby was 'cold blooded' the court is told
In April 2016, the hospital where Letby worked at grew suspicious of her and decided to removed her from the night shift. They expressed concerns about the 'correlation between her presence and unexpected deaths/life-threatening episodes.'
One consultant even says that he grew 'uncomfortable' when he realised that, after Letby was alone with a child, he noticed 'the infant's breathing tube was dislodged.'
During the trial, Letby has been portrayed as 'cold-blooded' and the court was told about one specific murder for which Letby tried to kill a 'little girl four times before succeeding.'
The jury's verdict should be known in the days to come.
This article has been adapted from OMMFR.
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Sources:
The Guardian: Lucy Letby trial jurors begin deliberations
BBC: Lucy Letby trial: Jurors told to decide where truth lies
BBC: Lucy Letby: Jury retires in trial of nurse accused of baby murders
Sky News: Lucy Letby trial - 'I am evil, I did this': Read the 'confession note' written by nurse accused of murdering seven babies