Nurse found guilty of attempting to murder premature baby

A former neonatal nurse has been convicted of trying to harm a tiny, premature baby just hours after she was born.

Lucy Letby, formerly of Arran Avenue, Hereford, has been found guilty of the attempted murder of the newborn baby girl, as she was being cared for at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The 34-year-old will be sentenced on Friday 5 July.

In August 2023, Letby was sentenced to 14 whole life orders, after being convicted of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.

The jury failed to reach a verdict on an allegation of attempted murder of Baby K and a decision was taken to hold a re-trial.

Speaking after the verdict today, Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Evans, who is the Deputy Senior Investigating Officer, said:

“This has been a long and painful journey for the parents of Baby K – having to face continual denials and sitting through very personal and upsetting evidence in the original trial and again at the re-trial.

“Their courage, strength and resilience is absolutely remarkable.

“I would like to thank them for continuing to put their faith in us and I hope that the conclusion today provides them with some peace of mind and some of the answers they have been searching for.

“Once again, there are no winners in this case. Today is not a time for celebration – it is a time for reflection and a time for the family of Baby K.

“My thoughts – and those of the whole prosecution team – remain with them at this incredibly difficult time.”

In court it was heard that Baby K had been born in the early hours of 17 February 2016 at 25 weeks gestation at the Countess of Chester Hospital. She was transferred to the neonatal unit.

During the prosecution case it was argued that on the night in question shortly after her designated nurse had left her side Letby had dislodged Baby K’s breathing tube – just hours after she was born.

A senior doctor who worked on the unit said he had entered the nursery that night to find Letby standing over the baby’s incubator. Her blood oxygen levels were dropping, no alarm was sounding and Letby was doing nothing.

The prosecution stated that Letby had deliberately interfered with the baby’s ET tube intending to kill the newborn.

The defence argued that there was no evidence to suggest Letby had inflicted harm on Baby K – and that she had been waiting for the baby to self-correct.

During her own evidence, Letby said she had no intention of harming the newborn and had no recollection of what happened that night.

The little girl was subsequently transferred out of the neonatal unit to a specialist hospital due to her extreme prematurity. She sadly died three days later although it was not the prosecution case that Letby had caused her death.

At the start of the re-trial an emotional statement was read out on behalf of Baby K’s mum followed by a sequence of events, prepared by one of Cheshire Constabulary’s intelligence analysts. This set the scene and focused on Baby K’s journey from birth and her time in the neonatal unit until she was transferred out.

The sequence captured what happened and when in terms of staff movements on the ward, which babies were on the unit at the time, how they were monitored and the treatment they received.

It also captured conversations during this time between Letby and other staff members via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger – along with a search that Letby was carrying out on Facebook for the surname of Baby K.

Letby claimed she had no recollection of why she was searching for this more than two years after Baby K died.

She also denied ever having murdered babies or intending to harm any newborn in her care at the Countess of Chester hospital.

Today, after a trial spanning 10 days the jury dismissed Letby’s version of events and agreed that she was responsible for attempting to murder Baby K.

DCI Evans added:

“A trained nurse responsible for caring and protecting a tiny, premature baby abused that position of trust in the most unthinkable way.

“The continued denials have caused significant upset for Baby K’s family as they have had to endure a trial and subsequent re-trial. No-one should ever have to go through what they experienced.”

In early May 2017, The Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust contacted Cheshire Constabulary regarding neonatal services at the hospital. This was in relation to a greater number of baby deaths and non-fatal collapses than normally expected during the period of June 2015 and June 2016.

As a result, Cheshire Constabulary launched an investigation called Operation Hummingbird. As time went on and further information came to light the scope of the investigation widened and further cases were reviewed.

As work continued behind the scenes to gather evidence, a suspect was formally identified and on 3 July 2018 Letby was arrested at her home in Chester.

She was taken into custody and interviewed by detectives and was subsequently bailed pending further enquiries.

This was followed by two further arrests – one in June 2019 and another in November 2020 – before subsequently being charged.

Detective Superintendent Simon Blackwell, who is strategic lead or the investigation, said:

“This has been a highly complex and extremely sensitive investigation over the past seven years and I want to say thank you to the whole investigation team in recognition of all of their dedication and hard work.

“I want to acknowledge each and every person who has been involved – from our dedicated officers and staff who built a detailed case that resulted in a charge, to the witnesses who were integral in giving their evidence at court, to the prosecution team who devoted their time to this case and finally to the jury who have had to sit through complex and, at times, very distressing and upsetting evidence before delivering their verdict.

“Our case has also been strongly supported by a number of key partners to which we are also very grateful including the Crown Prosecution Service, Prosecution Counsel, The National Crime Agency and colleagues from other forces.

“Everyone has had a part to play and we owe a debt of gratitude to you all.”

If you have any information that you would like to pass onto the investigation team please get in touch via the Operation Hummingbird mailbox at: 

Operation.Hummingbird.Public.Contact@cheshire.police.uk

Information can also be passed on by calling 101 and asking for Cheshire Constabulary or anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on:

0800 555 111