Serial killer nurse Lucy Letby convicted of attempted murder of little girl

Nurse Lucy Letby has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the attempted murder of a baby in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The 34-year-old appeared at Manchester Crown Court on Friday to hear her sentence after she was “caught virtually red-handed” deliberately dislodging the little girl's breathing tube in a nursery in the unit in February 2016.

The baby died three days later after being transferred to a specialist unit due to his extreme prematurity.

Letby was already serving 14 life sentences for seven murders and seven attempted murders, including two attempted murders of a child, which were handed down to him last year.

A life sentence means Letby will spend the rest of his life in prison, with no minimum sentence and no possibility of early release.

Sentencing Letby on Friday, Judge Goss said: “This was another shocking act of calculated and cruelty.

“During this trial, you have coldly denied any responsibility for the crimes committed and attempted to attribute your misdeeds to others. You feel no remorse.”

After telling Letby she would spend the rest of her life in prison, she turned around as she was led out of the dock and said: “I am innocent.”

A retrial has been ordered on a single charge of attempted murder relating to the little girl, known as Child K, after the first jury failed to reach a verdict.

But a second jury took just three and a half hours to find Letby guilty of the offence.

At the retrial, Letby was also forced to listen to the judge's sentencing remarks that she had previously refused to hear at the end of the first trial. Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC spent seven minutes reading part of the remarks while Letby stared mostly at the floor of the dock.

Click here to read our report on the judge's sentencing remarks last year

The retrial found that Letby targeted the baby after he was transferred from the delivery room to the neonatal unit shortly after his premature birth.

The young animal, born at 25 weeks gestation and weighing just 692g, was, according to the prosecution, “the embodiment of fragility”.

About 90 minutes after she was born, Letby dislodged the breathing tube through which she was being ventilated with air and oxygen.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Ravi Jayaram caught her “virtually red-handed” as he entered Nursery 1 at around 3.45am. He intervened and resuscitated child K.

Dr Jayaram told jurors he saw “no evidence” she had done anything to help the deteriorating baby as he walked in and saw her standing next to the infant's incubator.

Child K was transferred to a specialist hospital later on 17 February and died there three days later.

Letby was initially charged with murder of a child, but the charge was dropped in June 2022 after the prosecution provided no evidence.

After Friday's sentencing, senior Crown prosecutor Nicola Wyn Williams said: “Lucy Letby has now been convicted of another horrific crime: the attempted murder of another baby.

“This is an incredibly difficult, complex and disturbing case. A trained nurse tasked with caring for the most vulnerable babies used her skills and expertise to become a killer.”

In May, Letby lost his attempt to challenge his convictions from last year in the Court of Appeal.

Cheshire Police said its review of the care of some 4,000 babies admitted to hospital while Letby worked as a neonatal nurse was still ongoing.

A separate manslaughter investigation at the hospital, led by Cheshire Police, is also underway.

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

This is a breaking news story – more information to follow