Nurse on trial for the gruesome murder of 7 newborns – ‘I killed them on purpose’
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Trigger warning: This article contains violent and vivid depictions of a cruel murder case that may be too upsetting for some to read.
Nurses are often regarded as selfless, hardworking, and highly respected members of society.
In fact, someone once said: ‘Save one life, you’re a hero – save a hundred lives, you’re a nurse’, which perfectly sums up how remarkable their role is.
But it seems like evil can still manifest itself in ways and places we least expect.
There is a trial taking place in the UK this week that’s so shocking, it made global headlines. The criminal case in question surrounds a nurse named Lucy Letby.
The horrifying trial of Lucy Letby. Source: OpenAI
In February 2017, an alarming increase in unexplained child deaths took place at The Countess of Chester Hospital in England, prompting officials to investigate its neonatal ward.
Babies that needed the most care were temporarily moved to other hospitals as a precaution and an independent clinical review was launched.
The officials found procedural issues and ‘significant gaps’ in staffing… But eventually, the focus narrowed down to a particular staff member. After a thorough investigation, Letby was charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder relating to infant patients at the hospital.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Hughes of Cheshire Police said at the time: ‘It has been more than three years since we first launched an investigation into several deaths of babies and non-fatal collapses at the neonatal unit at The Countess of Chester Hospital.’
‘In that time, a dedicated team of detectives have been working extremely hard on this highly complex and very sensitive case, doing everything they can as quickly as possible to identify what has led to these baby deaths and collapses.’
‘Today, as part of our ongoing enquiries, the healthcare professional has been rearrested on suspicion of murder concerning the deaths of seven babies and the attempted murder of ten babies.’
Looks can be deceiving. Source: The Irish Sun
What did Lucy Letby do?
According to prosecutors, Lucy Letby allegedly tried to murder the babies by injecting them with air, milk, or insulin.
Consultants were puzzled as the health of the babies declined unexpectedly. Some who collapsed did not respond to appropriate treatment.
As they searched for an explanation – which they were unable to find – the consultants were able to determine the only common denominator associated with the untimely deaths: Lucy Letby.
The 32-year-old nurse denied killing the seven babies and attempting to murder another ten between June 2015 and June 2016. Now, she is facing a total of 22 charges as she allegedly tried to kill some babies more than once.
The police found several handwritten notes from Letby's home. Source: BBC
What else did the police find?
On Thursday, police revealed that they found several handwritten documents from her home after her arrest in July 2018. One note shown to the jury was titled: ‘Not good enough’. She wrote: ‘I will never have children or marry. I will never know what it’s like to have a family. I can’t breathe.’
The other handwritten notes read: ‘I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them.’
‘I AM EVIL, I DID THIS!’ she scribbled in capital letters.
Strangely, the police also unearthed notes that included ‘many protestations of innocence’, such as ones that read: ‘I haven’t done anything wrong and they have no evidence so why have I had to hide away?’
Letby’s lawyer, Benjamin Myers KC, argued that the notes showed an ‘anguished outpouring of a young woman in fear and despair when she realises the enormity of what is being said about her and this is her way of expressing it at the moment to herself’.
‘This note reflects the anguished state of mind Miss Letby found herself in and what she felt when she learned of how she was accused of killing children that she had done her best to care for. What you see there is anguish, not guilt.’ he continued.
The victims
The youngest alleged murder victim was one day old and perfectly healthy when he was born.
Within 90 minutes of Letby starting her shift, the newborn in question was declared dead.
Medical experts divulged that his death was consistent with a deliberate injection of air or something else into his circulation minutes before his collapse.
The prosecution then alleged that Letby attempted to murder the boy's twin sister as well a few hours later. Fortunately, the twin girl survived and did not appear to have suffered any long-term adverse effects.
The mother of the twins claimed to have walked in on the nurse trying to kill her baby.
When the mother confronted Letby, Letby allegedly reassured her: ‘Trust me, I'm a nurse.’
The mum, who testified in court, detailed that at the time, her baby was ‘acutely distressed’ and bleeding from the mouth. She did not realise that Letby had already allegedly murdered her son and was ‘fobbed off’.
A few hours later, the boy died and postmortem results confirmed foul play.
Lucy Letby is facing 7 murder and 15 attempted murder charges. Source: Unsplash
Another victim’s death was initially put down to a gastrointestinal disorder. It's a condition that medical experts explained can sometimes occur in premature babies, therefore no postmortem was undertaken.
The prosecution said that this decision was ‘a big mistake’.
Experts later concluded that the baby died as a result of gas intentionally injected into his bloodstream and ‘bleeding indicative of trauma’. They added that none of the deaths were ‘naturally-occurring tragedies’.
Letby allegedly also tried to create a false alibi for herself. After one of the infant's deaths, police claimed that Letby allegedly deleted records of the mother's visit to the neonatal ward. Then, she was said to have falsely documented that she was in another room when the infant's health declined.
Another of Letby's alleged victims was a three-month-old child who was left with ‘irreversible brain damage’ after she tried to kill the child three times by injecting milk and air into her nasogastric tube.
In another incident, Letby allegedly tried to murder a child by adding insulin to his feed. This caused the child's blood sugar to plummet while he was in her care.
‘Somebody poisoned him. No other baby in the neonatal unit was being prescribed insulin. Therefore it couldn't have been negligence.’ the prosecution said.
The child's nutrients bag was replaced and he survived, but the medical team on the unit were concerned and ordered checks.
It is also claimed that her computer contained history of her researching the parents of children she allegedly murdered.
Lucy Letby’s trial continues and may last for up to half a year.
Learn more about the case by watching the video below:
Source: Sky News
Nurses are often regarded as selfless, hardworking, and highly respected members of society.
In fact, someone once said: ‘Save one life, you’re a hero – save a hundred lives, you’re a nurse’, which perfectly sums up how remarkable their role is.
But it seems like evil can still manifest itself in ways and places we least expect.
There is a trial taking place in the UK this week that’s so shocking, it made global headlines. The criminal case in question surrounds a nurse named Lucy Letby.
The horrifying trial of Lucy Letby. Source: OpenAI
In February 2017, an alarming increase in unexplained child deaths took place at The Countess of Chester Hospital in England, prompting officials to investigate its neonatal ward.
Babies that needed the most care were temporarily moved to other hospitals as a precaution and an independent clinical review was launched.
The officials found procedural issues and ‘significant gaps’ in staffing… But eventually, the focus narrowed down to a particular staff member. After a thorough investigation, Letby was charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder relating to infant patients at the hospital.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Hughes of Cheshire Police said at the time: ‘It has been more than three years since we first launched an investigation into several deaths of babies and non-fatal collapses at the neonatal unit at The Countess of Chester Hospital.’
‘In that time, a dedicated team of detectives have been working extremely hard on this highly complex and very sensitive case, doing everything they can as quickly as possible to identify what has led to these baby deaths and collapses.’
‘Today, as part of our ongoing enquiries, the healthcare professional has been rearrested on suspicion of murder concerning the deaths of seven babies and the attempted murder of ten babies.’
Looks can be deceiving. Source: The Irish Sun
What did Lucy Letby do?
According to prosecutors, Lucy Letby allegedly tried to murder the babies by injecting them with air, milk, or insulin.
Consultants were puzzled as the health of the babies declined unexpectedly. Some who collapsed did not respond to appropriate treatment.
As they searched for an explanation – which they were unable to find – the consultants were able to determine the only common denominator associated with the untimely deaths: Lucy Letby.
The 32-year-old nurse denied killing the seven babies and attempting to murder another ten between June 2015 and June 2016. Now, she is facing a total of 22 charges as she allegedly tried to kill some babies more than once.
The police found several handwritten notes from Letby's home. Source: BBC
What else did the police find?
On Thursday, police revealed that they found several handwritten documents from her home after her arrest in July 2018. One note shown to the jury was titled: ‘Not good enough’. She wrote: ‘I will never have children or marry. I will never know what it’s like to have a family. I can’t breathe.’
The other handwritten notes read: ‘I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them.’
‘I AM EVIL, I DID THIS!’ she scribbled in capital letters.
Strangely, the police also unearthed notes that included ‘many protestations of innocence’, such as ones that read: ‘I haven’t done anything wrong and they have no evidence so why have I had to hide away?’
Letby’s lawyer, Benjamin Myers KC, argued that the notes showed an ‘anguished outpouring of a young woman in fear and despair when she realises the enormity of what is being said about her and this is her way of expressing it at the moment to herself’.
‘This note reflects the anguished state of mind Miss Letby found herself in and what she felt when she learned of how she was accused of killing children that she had done her best to care for. What you see there is anguish, not guilt.’ he continued.
The victims
The youngest alleged murder victim was one day old and perfectly healthy when he was born.
Within 90 minutes of Letby starting her shift, the newborn in question was declared dead.
Medical experts divulged that his death was consistent with a deliberate injection of air or something else into his circulation minutes before his collapse.
The prosecution then alleged that Letby attempted to murder the boy's twin sister as well a few hours later. Fortunately, the twin girl survived and did not appear to have suffered any long-term adverse effects.
The mother of the twins claimed to have walked in on the nurse trying to kill her baby.
When the mother confronted Letby, Letby allegedly reassured her: ‘Trust me, I'm a nurse.’
The mum, who testified in court, detailed that at the time, her baby was ‘acutely distressed’ and bleeding from the mouth. She did not realise that Letby had already allegedly murdered her son and was ‘fobbed off’.
A few hours later, the boy died and postmortem results confirmed foul play.
Lucy Letby is facing 7 murder and 15 attempted murder charges. Source: Unsplash
Another victim’s death was initially put down to a gastrointestinal disorder. It's a condition that medical experts explained can sometimes occur in premature babies, therefore no postmortem was undertaken.
The prosecution said that this decision was ‘a big mistake’.
Experts later concluded that the baby died as a result of gas intentionally injected into his bloodstream and ‘bleeding indicative of trauma’. They added that none of the deaths were ‘naturally-occurring tragedies’.
Letby allegedly also tried to create a false alibi for herself. After one of the infant's deaths, police claimed that Letby allegedly deleted records of the mother's visit to the neonatal ward. Then, she was said to have falsely documented that she was in another room when the infant's health declined.
Another of Letby's alleged victims was a three-month-old child who was left with ‘irreversible brain damage’ after she tried to kill the child three times by injecting milk and air into her nasogastric tube.
In another incident, Letby allegedly tried to murder a child by adding insulin to his feed. This caused the child's blood sugar to plummet while he was in her care.
‘Somebody poisoned him. No other baby in the neonatal unit was being prescribed insulin. Therefore it couldn't have been negligence.’ the prosecution said.
The child's nutrients bag was replaced and he survived, but the medical team on the unit were concerned and ordered checks.
It is also claimed that her computer contained history of her researching the parents of children she allegedly murdered.
Lucy Letby’s trial continues and may last for up to half a year.
Learn more about the case by watching the video below:
Source: Sky News
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