A neonatal nurse in a British hospital was found guilty Friday of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six others during a yearlong campaign of deception that saw her prey on the vulnerabilities of sick newborns and their anxious parents.
Following 22 days of deliberation, the jury at Manchester Crown Court convicted 33-year-old Lucy Letby of killing the babies, including two triplet boys, in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between June 2015 and June 2016. She will be sentenced on Monday.
含羞草研究社淧arents were exposed to her morbid curiosity and her fake compassion,含羞草研究社� said senior prosecutor Pascale Jones. 含羞草研究社淭oo many of them returned home to empty baby rooms. Many surviving children live with permanent consequences of her assaults upon their lives.含羞草研究社�
Her attacks, Jones said, were 含羞草研究社渁 complete betrayal of the trust placed in her.含羞草研究社�
Families of the victims said they will 含羞草研究社渇orever be grateful含羞草研究社� to jurors who since last October had to sit through 145 days of 含羞草研究社済rueling含羞草研究社� evidence.
In a joint statement read outside court, they also expressed their gratitude to all those who came to give evidence during the trial, which they described as 含羞草研究社渆xtremely harrowing and distressing含羞草研究社� to listen to.
含羞草研究社淭o lose a baby is a heart-breaking experience that no parent should ever have to go through, but to lose a baby or to have a baby harmed in these particular circumstances is unimaginable.,含羞草研究社� they said.
Letby含羞草研究社檚 motives remain unclear but the scale of her crimes points to intricate planning.
She was accused of deliberately harming the babies in various ways, including by injecting air into their bloodstreams and administering air or milk into their stomachs via nasogastric tubes. She was also accused of poisoning infants by adding insulin to intravenous feeds and interfering with breathing tubes.
The British government launched an independent inquiry soon after the verdicts that will look into the wider circumstances around what happened at the hospital, including the handling of concerns raised by staff.
含羞草研究社淭his inquiry will seek to ensure the parents and families impacted get the answers they need,含羞草研究社� Health Secretary Steve Barclay said. 含羞草研究社淚 am determined their voices are heard, and they are involved in shaping the scope of the inquiry should they wish to do so.含羞草研究社�
One of the senior doctors at the Countess of Chester Hospital told the BBC he had repeatedly tried to raise the alarm about Letby but hospital executives failed to investigate the allegations.
Dr Stephen Brearley, the lead doctor in the neonatal, said the hospital tried to silence doctors who complained about Letby and delayed calling the police.
The jury of seven women and four men deliberated for 22 days before reaching the verdict. One juror was excused well into deliberations for personal reasons, and the judge later gave the remaining 11 jurors the option of reaching a verdict with 10 people in agreement instead of a unanimous decision.
Letby was found guilty of the seven murders and of seven charges of attempted murder relating to six children. She was cleared of two charges of attempted murder and the jury could not reach a verdict on several others.
Some of the verdicts were announced in court earlier in the month, but the judge imposed a ban on reporting them until deliberations were complete.
During the lengthy trial, prosecutors said the hospital in 2015 started to experience a significant rise in the number of babies who were dying or suffering sudden deteriorations in their health for no apparent reason. Some suffered 含羞草研究社渟erious catastrophic collapses含羞草研究社� but survived after help from medical staff.
Letby was on duty in all the cases with prosecutors describing her as a 含羞草研究社渃onstant malevolent presence含羞草研究社� in the neonatal unit when the children collapsed or died. They said the nurse harmed the babies in ways that did not leave much of a trace, and that she persuaded her colleagues that the collapses and deaths were normal.
Police launched an investigation into the baby deaths at the hospital in May 2017 and Letby was eventually charged in November 2020.
含羞草研究社淭he last thing we expected to find was a suspect responsible for these deaths and non-fatal collapses,含羞草研究社� said the senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes.
含羞草研究社淭urning up at the home of a family who have lost a baby, grieved for their loss and are trying to move on from that is difficult enough, but having to tell them that someone who was meant to be caring for their little one could ultimately be responsible for their death 含羞草研究社� is not an easy task,含羞草研究社� he added.
Letby testified for 14 days, proclaiming her innocence. During the trial, the defense argued that she was a 含羞草研究社渉ard-working, dedicated and caring含羞草研究社� nurse who loved her job and that the infants含羞草研究社� sudden collapses and deaths could have been due to natural causes, or in combination with other factors such as staffing shortages at the hospital or failure by others to provide appropriate care.
Letby fought back tears on Aug. 8 as the jury found her guilty of two counts of attempted murder and burst out crying as she left the courtroom. She was present again three days later when she was convicted of four murders and another two attempted murders.
She declined to be in the courtroom as additional verdicts were announced Friday and has indicated to the court she does not wish to appear in court Monday, nor to follow the sentencing hearing via videolink.
A note police found at Letby含羞草研究社檚 home after she was first arrested in 2018 will now stand as a chilling confession.
含羞草研究社淚 don含羞草研究社檛 deserve to live,含羞草研究社� she wrote on a green sticky note shown in court. 含羞草研究社淚 killed them on purpose because I含羞草研究社檓 not good enough to care for them.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淚 am a horrible evil person,含羞草研究社� she wrote. 含羞草研究社淚 AM EVIL I DID THIS.含羞草研究社�
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