Parents of infants murdered by Lucy Letby express their anguish over eight years following the neonatal nurse's conviction for a hospital killing spree. Meanwhile, authorities launch a new investigation into the care of 4,000 other newborns under her watch.
Letby, a 33-year-old neonatal nurse, now holds the title of the most prolific child killer in modern British history, surpassing Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. A jury found her guilty of murdering seven premature babies and attempting to murder six others. She was acquitted of two attempted murder charges, while the jury could not reach a verdict on six additional counts.
Although Letby will be sentenced on Monday, she refused to return to the dock to hear the final guilty verdicts, and the judge lacks the authority to compel her appearance. Calls for a new law to ensure criminals face their punishment in court and confront the families of their victims are growing louder. In a statement read outside Manchester Crown Court, the victims' families expressed their shock and described their arduous emotional journey over the past seven to eight years.
Letby, facing a whole-life term, killed five baby boys and two baby girls and attempted to murder four boys and two girls between June 2015 and June 2016. Her victims were babies small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, whom she injected with air or insulin, causing their collapse and death. In other instances, she inserted medical equipment down their throats, resulting in severe bleeding. Shockingly, Letby would console the parents of the children she killed and even send them sympathy cards after their funerals. Her motive remains unclear, but the prosecution suggested she derived a thrill from playing God and may have sought to impress a married doctor.
The police are now reevaluating the care provided to 4,000 babies who may have been in contact with Letby during her tenure at the Countess of Chester Hospital from January 2012 to June 2016, as well as her work placements at Liverpool Women's Hospital in 2012 and 2015. Additional families have been notified that their children may have been victims during Letby's five-year career in the NHS. The Department of Health has responded to families' demands for an independent public inquiry, which will investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths and incidents, including the handling of concerns raised by clinicians.
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