The making of a serial killer: From student nurse to ruthless murderer, a full timeline of the horrific crimes Lucy Letby committed in plain sight - ending with her conviction as the most prolific child killer in modern day Britain
This is the full, shocking timeline of the year Lucy Letby spent killing babies on the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Beginning with her enrolment as an 18-year-old student nurse at the city's university, it details the horrific crimes she committed in 'plain sight' of colleagues who trusted her as one of their own.
Letby is seen to repeatedly betray both nurses and doctors alike, and to exploit the vulnerability and trust of the parents whose infants she was meant to be caring for.
The narrative ends with her conviction and incarceration as a serial killer, together with the revelation that police are now investigating the possibility that she attacked other infants earlier in her career.
Lucy Letby, a quiet, innocuous 18-year-old from Hereford, moves to Chester to begin a three-year nursing degree. It is the career she mapped out for himself while a student at Hereford Sixth Form College.
She is three years behind another student at the college, the singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding.
Years later, when she is nine months into her killing spree, Letby will attend one of Goulding's concerts at the Liverpool Arena. During her time at university she will go on work experience at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
2011
September
The future killer finishes her degree and qualifies as a Band 5 nurse.
2012
January
Letby starts work at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital. She's living in nurses' accommodation at Ash House, within the hospital site, and qualifies as a mentor to new students 'fairly early on'. Just over a decade later she will tell a jury that she 'really enjoyed that aspect'. It will emerge after her trial that this is one of the years police are now investigating as part of a new inquiry into her activities.
2014
March 15
She goes to live alone in a flat belonging to one of her colleagues. She will be there until June 1, 2015.
2015
This is the second of the two years Cheshire Police are now investigating in the aftermath of the trial.
March/April
In court she will tell her barrister, Ben Myers KC, that from this point on her time is spent 'predominantly' looking after the sickest babies on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester.
At some point in the year Letby spends time at Liverpool Women's Hospital. Her time there is now being investigated as part of the new investigation.
May 31
Baby G, the most premature of the babies in the indictment, is born at Arrowe Park Hospital. She weighs 1lb 2oz and has a gestation of 23 weeks and 6 days. Letby will tell Mr Myers: 'She stood out as a baby who had complex needs and was a very premature baby.'
June 1
Letby moves back into Ash House. She'll remain there until moving into her semi-detached house in Westbourne Road, Chester, in April 2016. Her sadistic killing spree on the neonatal unit is about to begin.
June 5-7
Letby is in York on a hen party for her friend - and nursery nurse on the unit - Jennifer Jones-Key. A number of other Countess of Chester nurses are on the trip. They travel by train and end up drinking cocktails in Revolution Bar.
June 7
8.31pm: Baby A, a boy, is born a few moments ahead of his twin sister, Baby B. He is in good condition.
June 8
Letby has returned to work after the trip to York. Today she will claim the life of her first victim, Baby A.
5pm: Paediatric registrar David Harkness inserts a long line so Baby A can be fed the fluids he needs.
8pm: Baby A has been alive for almost a day. Up to now he has been looked after by Melanie Taylor. He is stable. Now Nurse Taylor hands over care to Lucy Letby and together they start the fluids via the long line.
8.26pm: Baby A collapses and Letby calls Dr Harkness over to his incubator. The infant is deteriorating rapidly. Resuscitation procedures are started and adrenaline is given to stimulate his heart. Harkness is joined by Ravi Jayaram and both notice an odd discolouration on the baby's skin, with flitting patches of pink over blue that seem to appear and disappear. Neither has previously seen such discolouration. The medics try desperately to save the baby's life, but none of the techniques that would normally help revive a baby are working.
8.58pm: Baby A is pronounced dead. He has died within 90 minutes of Letby coming on duty. Nick Johnson KC, prosecuting, said: 'That it is a hallmark of some of the cases in which Lucy Letby injected air into the circulations of some of these small babies'.
June 9
In the aftermath of Baby A's death Melanie Taylor sends a WhatsApp message to Letby: 'I hope you are OK, you were brilliant'. Letby, though, is due to begin a night shift and is already thinking of killing the infant's twin, Baby B.
June 10
11:50 pm: Nurse A, a friend and colleague of Letby, is caring for Baby B. It is observed that the baby's blood oxygen levels have dropped to 75 percent, and the Cpap nasal prongs attached to her nostrils have become dislodged. Nurse A repositions the baby's head and the prongs and provides additional oxygen.
June 10
12:16 am: Letby, not being Baby B's designated nurse, takes the baby's blood gases.
12:30 am: Baby B's alarm sounds, and Letby calls Nurse A over to the incubator. The baby has stopped breathing, and a crash call is initiated. It has been approximately 28 hours since Baby B's twin brother passed away.
Letby's nursing colleague notices purple blotches and white patches all over the infant's body. Baby B is intubated and shows a quick recovery. The skin discoloration has decreased by the time the on-call consultant, Doctor B, arrives. Doctor B observes gas loops in the baby's bowel.
When Dewi Evans, the main medical expert for the prosecution, reviews the case three years later, he concludes that Baby B had been sabotaged both before and after midnight. It is suspected that her airways were blocked and air may have been injected into her bloodstream.
Professor Kinsey, a blood expert, explains that injecting air into a vein can cause blood to bypass the lungs and flow from one side of the heart to the other without being oxygenated. This could explain the changes in skin color observed by the medical staff. No blood disorder could account for Baby B's sudden deterioration.
Baby B continues to recover and is discharged on July 9. She is now eight years old and resides abroad with her parents.
June 13
11:00 pm: Nurse Sophie Ellis is in Nursery 1, giving Baby C his first milk feed. She briefly goes to the nurses' station and hears Baby O's monitor go off. When she returns to Baby C's room, Letby is already there, standing beside his cot. Letby mentions that his heart rate and oxygen saturation have dropped.
11:09 pm: Letby sends a message referring to the image of Baby A that had been on her mind the week before, then bids Nurse A to sleep well.
11:15 pm: A crash call is initiated. Senior house officer and registrar Katherine Davis respond. Katherine attempts to intubate Baby C but is unable to do so due to swollen vocal cords blocking the airway. The vocal cords were already swollen before her first attempt. Consultant John Gibbs is called in and successfully intubates the baby.
The attempts to save Baby C continue into June 14.
June 14
5:58 am: Despite prolonged resuscitation efforts, Baby C cannot be saved and is pronounced dead.
8:48 am: Letby messages Jennifer Jones, expressing her struggle to accept what happened to Baby A and the loss of Baby C overnight, finding it all overwhelming.
8:57 am: Letby continues the conversation, mentioning Baby C, the little 800g baby who deteriorated suddenly, and expresses sadness and cruelty in such situations.
9:25 am: Letby messages her mother, informing her of the loss, expressing sadness.
9:41 am: Letby messages Jennifer Jones again, discussing the emotional toll of witnessing and dealing with such heartbreaking situations.
9:45 am: Letby emphasizes the sorrow for the parents who have to leave without their baby, acknowledging the immense sadness of the circumstances.
Letby shares the news with Nurse A, who urges her to try to sleep and offers sympathy, acknowledging the tough week for Letby.
Mr. Johnson, the prosecutor, will inform the jury that this time, air was inserted into the baby's stomach via the NG tube, rather than into the bloodstream. It is described as a variation or refinement of the pattern Letby had started with the twins (A and B).
June 20
4:01 am: Baby D is born by C-section, a full-term baby in good condition.
4:13 am: At 12 minutes old, Baby D becomes limp in her father's arms. The staff fail to administer antibiotics promptly and also miss conducting an immediate review when she shows signs of respiratory distress. Eventually, she is transferred to Nursery 1, already infected.
June 21
Baby D is responding to treatment and is not expected to deteriorate.
Rewritten:
June 22
1:30 am, 3 am, 3:45 am: Baby D experiences three collapses, with the second collapse being particularly distressing and accompanied by crying. The staff notice mottling, poor perfusion, and brown/black discoloration on the baby's skin. Prosecutors allege that Letby injected air into Baby D's bloodstream while the designated nurse, Caroline Oakley, was absent from the room.
3:45 am: Baby D undergoes CPR during another collapse.
4:21 am: Despite efforts, Baby D cannot be saved, and treatment is discontinued. She is declared dead four minutes later.
According to medical expert Dr. Sandie Bohin, Baby D was injected with air on one or more occasions, with a dosage of 3 to 5 mg/kg being lethal. Dr. Bohin highlights the heightened distress exhibited by Baby D during her second collapse, similar to documented cases of air embolism where extreme distress and terror are observed prior to collapse.
June 30
9:49 pm: Nurse A messages Letby, expressing suspicions about the sudden deaths of three babies and the unusual circumstances surrounding them.
Letby responds, asking Nurse A to elaborate.
Nurse A speculates about the connection between Letby's presence and the unexplained collapses on the neonatal unit, but dismisses it as speculation.
In the days following Baby D's death, senior staff members, concerned about the deaths and a near-fatal collapse, request a review led by nursing manager Eirian Powell. The review examines factors such as staff schedules, incubator space, and microbiology in an attempt to identify potential issues. However, the review only provides pointers and does not fully explain the cause of the collapses.
July 9
Baby B's condition improves, and she is discharged from the hospital, escaping the danger posed by her potential assailant.
July 29
Twins Baby E and F, both boys born prematurely at 29 weeks and five days, enter the world. Baby E will tragically pass away on August 4.
August 3
Letby is on the night shift.
9 pm: The twins' mother comes to the unit to feed them expressed milk and discovers Baby E screaming with fresh blood around his mouth. Letby falsely claims that Dr. Harkness will review the situation, despite Harkness not being on duty until 10 pm. Baby E's condition will worsen significantly by the time the mother sees him next.
9:11 pm: The distressed mother calls her husband, confirming the timing and disproving Letby's claim of her arrival at 10 pm.
10:10 pm: Dr. Harkness arrives and observes a large vomit of fresh blood.
11 pm: Baby E experiences a further loss of 13 ml of blood, a significant amount for such a small baby. Dr. Harkness notes the presence of white and purple patches on the baby's abdomen.
August 4
12:36 am: Full CPR is initiated due to the absence of detectable cardiac output in Baby E. The bleeding continues, and Letby participates in the resuscitation until 12:38 am, when she moves to Nursery 4 to administer medication to another baby. The on-call consultant is informed and provides guidance before attending and taking over the resuscitation. Unfortunately, all efforts prove futile.
1:23 am: The woman consultant alerts Dr. Harkness that it is time to cease resuscitation.
1:40 am: Baby E is pronounced dead, and his surviving twin, Baby F, is relocated to Nursery 2. Dr. Harkness is deeply distressed by the event and will subsequently take sick leave.
The woman consultant advises the parents against requesting a post-mortem examination, a decision that forensic pathologist Dr. Andreas Marnerides deems unfortunate, as it deprives the prosecution of potentially crucial evidence.
4 pm: The prosecution argues that Letby injected a small amount of insulin into a bag of dextrose between this time and 1 am on August 5, knowing that it would be fed to Baby F.
A note found in Letby's house, stating "I AM EVIL I DID THIS," further supports the prosecution's case.
Mr. Johnson, the prosecutor, asserts that Letby's actions were cunning, as the poisoned dextrose would be connected to a colleague rather than herself, diverting suspicion.
August 5
1:54 am: Baby F experiences an unexpected drop in blood sugar levels and a surge in heart rate.
8 am: Letby concludes her shift.
5:56 pm: Concerned about the infant's hypoglycemic episode, the medical team orders a check of Baby F's plasma insulin and C-peptide levels. Unbeknownst to them at the time, the results will confirm that Baby E was poisoned with manufactured insulin.
Additionally, a blood sample indicates a dangerously low blood glucose level, with the untreated condition posing the risk of convulsions,August 5
1:54 am: Baby F encounters an abrupt decrease in blood sugar levels and a rapid increase in heart rate.
8 am: Letby completes her shift.
5:56 pm: Due to concerns about the infant's hypoglycemic episode, the medical team orders tests for Baby F's plasma insulin level and another hormone called C-peptide. At the time, the medical staff is unaware, but these tests will later reveal that Baby E was poisoned with artificial insulin.
Meanwhile, a blood sample indicates an alarmingly low blood glucose level. If left untreated, this condition could have led to convulsions, coma, apnea, irreversible brain damage, and even death for Baby F.
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