Nurse Lucy Letby’s brutal murders could have been avoided
Lucy Letby, 33, has been found guilty of seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder relating to six babies, making her the worst child serial killer in modern British history. Questions have been raised over whether her brutal crimes could have been avoided.
The neonatal nurse was convicted of the “calculated” murder of five premature boys and two newborn girls at the Countess of Chester Hospital in England. She was in her mid-20s when she attacked vulnerable babies between 2015 and 2016. Police finally arrested her in 2018.
As ministers ordered an independent inquiry, a whistleblower told the Guardian he believed the cold-blooded murders would have been stopped if hospital executives had acted sooner. Dr Stephen Brearey said he felt bosses had been “neglectful”.
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Letby Killed A Girl Born Premature On The Fourth Attempt
The nurse often attacked the vulnerable babies just moments after their parents or nurses had left their side. Her victims included a newborn weighing less than 1 kg who was shockingly injected with air and a girl born prematurely killed on the fourth attempt.
Bereaved parents wept in the public gallery as the verdicts were delivered over several days at Manchester crown court. They said justice had been served but no conviction would take away from them the extreme distress and anger they all had to experience.
The nurse is expected to become only the third woman alive in the country to receive a whole-life prison term when she is sentenced on Monday. It means she will never be released. Police, however, believe she may have attacked more babies.
Specialists Asked To Examine Records Of Over 4,000 Infants
Detectives have asked specialists to review the records of over 4,000 infants born at the two facilities where Letby worked as a children’s nurse between 2010 and 2016. They include the Countess of Chester and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
One of the babies she tried to harm weighed just over 535 g when she was born 15 weeks premature. She was given a worrying 5% chance of survival. The nurse tried to kill her twice, with the first attempt recorded just hours after celebrations for her 100th day of life.
Letby wasn’t found guilty of a third count of attempted murder against the baby. The little girl, known as Child G, was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy after the attacks. Her parents gasped when the verdicts were delivered in a packed and silent courtroom.
