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Lucy Letby, an accused serial killer nurse, tried to murder a premature baby by force-feeding her through a nasal tube. She is accused of murdering seven infants and attempting to kill ten. The incidents date back to 2015 and 2016 when she was working at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit.
Lucy, 32, allegedly tried to kill the premature baby girl, referred to as “Child G,” on three separate occasions. She is currently on trial at Manchester Crown Court for the accusations. She has, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Lucy Letby worked at the hospital’s neonatal unit from 2011 to 2018
Lucy Letby is accused of killing seven infants, of which five were boys and two were girls. She worked as a nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit from 2011 to 2018.
The hospital's neonatal unit stopped admitting premature infants due to an unexplained high mortality rate in 2015 and 2016. Following a year-long investigation into the high infant mortality rates at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Letby was arrested in July 2018 on suspicion of eight counts of suspected murder and six counts of attempted murder,.
Recent hearings uncovered that Letby allegedly tried to kill Baby G on three separate occasions in September 2015. The infant was born prematurely and weighed less than the ideal weight for newborns. During her stay at Countess of Chester Hospital, a nursing note read that Child G,
“Had two large projectile milky vomits and had apnoea for a short period.”
At about 3.30 pm BST, doctors checked the baby’s oxygen saturation and other vitals. An unnamed nurse said that Letby was screaming for help from the nursery, and when the former reached there, she found the baby in an unwell state. She added,
“Lucy obviously was concerned and she was responding appropriately.”
The nurse further stated that she noticed that the monitor was turned off, which was not normal, but did not accuse Lucy of doing the same. She refuted the prosecutors’ statement alleging that Lucy Letby had knowingly turned the monitor off and said,
“I read the prosecution's opening speeches online and it suggested that Lucy had switched off the monitor. I knew that not to be the case.”
Dr. Stephen Breary, the on-call consultant at the neo-natal unit back then, said that Baby G’s health was improving and she was quite stable on September 6, 2015. Dr. Breary further added that,
“The baby had a very large projectile vomit which reached the chair next to the cot and canopy.”
Prosecutors accused Lucy Letby of having force-fed Baby G massive amounts of milk through a nasogastric tube, or that she had injected air into it. Medical professionals in the unit initially thought that there were issues with the ventilation system and decided to shift the infant to a manual breathing support unit.
Dr. Stephen mentioned,
“It's perplexing and I can't think of a natural cause why that would happen.”
Dr. David Harkness, who was working at the hospital at the time, said that the baby was not doing well and was very sick on September 7, 2015. Doctors also claimed that they could not find anything suspicious after running several tests on the baby girl.
Letby was arrested in 2018 after a probe showed a rise in newborn deaths under her supervision; the nurse pleaded not guilty
In 2017, Dr. Dewi Evans was approached to study the case and review it. Dr. Evans stated,
“For a baby of 2kg to vomit that far is quite remarkable. Even more astonishing is the vomit that ends up on the chair. It is several feet away. I can't recall a baby vomiting on the floor. I can't recall a baby vomiting that distance. It was described quite correctly as extraordinary.”
The doctor also told the court that a member of staff must have injected the excess liquid into the baby’s body with the intent to harm her.
It was discovered that the baby girl had survived, but she sustained brain damage. Police took Lucy Letby into custody in 2018 after a year-long investigation into the steep rise in newborn deaths in the unit under her supervision.
The court heard that Letby supposedly smiled at a mother whose daughter (Baby I) she had killed on the fourth attempt. She had also allegedly sent a sympathy card to the family.
Prosecutor Nick Johnson explained the case of Baby I to the court and said,
“Baby I was born very early and very small - but she survived the first two months of her life and was doing well by the time Lucy Letby got her hands on her.”
Lucy’s parents, Susan and John, are, however, supporting their daughter at the trial, which began at Manchester Crown Court on October 10, 2022. As mentioned, Lucy Letby has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of murder and fifteen counts of attempted murder relating to ten babies.
