Lucy Letby guilty of attempting to kill baby

Former nurse Lucy Letby has been found guilty of attempting to kill a premature baby girl.

The 34-year-old was found guilty of attempted murder of the child, known in court as Baby K, after a retrial.

In a statement, Baby K’s family described having to endure a “long, tortuous and emotional journey – twice.”

“Today, justice has been served. But it does not erase the extreme pain, anger and distress we must all have felt,” they said.

Last August, Letby was found guilty by a separate jury of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

However, no verdict could be reached on the allegation relating to Baby K and a retrial was ordered, at Manchester Crown Court.

The jury in the retrial found her guilty of trying to kill the “very premature” infant by dislodging his breathing tube in the early hours of February 17, 2016.

Baby K’s parents gasped and then cried as the jury foreman read the verdict after three and a half hours of deliberation.

Letby showed no emotion in the dock.

Detective Inspector Nicola Evans, of Cheshire Police, praised the “courage, strength and resilience” of the boy’s parents, who she said had been forced to deal with Letby’s “continued denials”.

“I want to thank them for continuing to trust us and I hope that today’s conclusion will bring them some peace of mind and some of the answers they are looking for,” she said.

“Once again, there are no winners in this case. Today is not a time to celebrate, it is a time to reflect and focus on Baby K’s family.”

The court heard how Letby targeted the child after she was transferred from the delivery room to the neonatal unit shortly after her premature birth.

The jury agreed that the former nurse dislodged the baby’s breathing tube and stood by his incubator watching his blood oxygen levels drop without intervening.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Ravi Jayaram had caught her “virtually red-handed” as he entered the unit’s intensive care ward at around 3.45am.

Dr Jayaram, who intervened to resuscitate the child, told jurors he had seen “no evidence” that Letby had done anything to help the deteriorating baby.

He said he heard no calls for help from Letby, nor any alarms sounding as Baby K’s blood oxygen level suddenly dropped.

Letby told the jury of six women and six men that she had no recollection of such an event.

She denied doing anything wrong to Baby K and repeatedly insisted that she had not committed any of the offences for which she was convicted.

Baby K was transferred to a specialist hospital later on 17 February due to her extreme prematurity and died there three days later, with the cause of death certified as extreme prematurity and severe respiratory distress syndrome.

More than two years later, in April 2018, Letby searched Facebook for Baby K’s surname, the court heard.

Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said it was part of a pattern of similar Facebook searches, telling the jury: “The truth is that Lucy Letby was fascinated by the babies she had murdered and attempted to murder, and their families.

“She took pleasure in her murderous work.”

Dr Nigel Scawn, medical director of the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said he was “extremely sorry that these horrific crimes have occurred in our hospital”.

He added: “Since Lucy Letby joined our hospital, we have made significant changes to our services and remain committed to providing safe, high-quality care to our local communities.”

Dr Scawn acknowledged the impact the Letby case continued to have on all involved, adding that he was “grateful for the unwavering cooperation and professionalism of our staff, some of whom returned to court to rehearse evidence and relive events”.

Letby was initially charged with Baby K’s murder, but the charge was dropped in June 2022 after the prosecution provided no evidence.

She will be sentenced for the attempted murder of Baby K on July 5.

A public inquiry into how Letby was able to commit his crimes in the neonatal unit is due to begin at Liverpool City Hall on September 10.

Detective Superintendent Simon Blackwell said an investigation into manslaughter at the hospital, launched in October 2023, was still ongoing and was looking at areas including senior management and decision-making between June 2015 and June 2016.

He said: “At this stage we are not investigating any individuals in relation to gross negligence manslaughter.

“We recognise that this investigation has a significant impact on a number of different stakeholders, including the families involved in this case, and we want to reassure them that we are committed to conducting a thorough investigation.

“Since Letby’s initial conviction in August 2023, the investigation team has had a very busy time. This has included a subsequent appeal, the retrial on one count of attempted murder and the launch of the statutory public inquiry in which Cheshire Police is participating.”