Murders of Seven Babies
A public inquiry has commenced in the United Kingdom to investigate how nurse Lucy Letby managed to murder seven newborns at the hospital where she worked, and why these horrific acts went unnoticed for several months.
The inquiry, ordered by the government, began on Tuesday at Liverpool Town Hall, focusing on the case of 34-year-old former nurse Lucy Letby, who was convicted of murdering the infants at Chester’s Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.
The inquiry is led by chairwoman Lady Justice Kathryn Thirlwall, who emphasized that the conviction alone did not provide complete closure for the victims’ families. She stated that the primary goal of the inquiry is to uncover answers for the bereaved families.
Lucy Letby was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others. Her conviction came after two trials, and she was denied the opportunity to appeal earlier this year.
The case garnered significant media attention, prompting the government to order an independent investigation into the hospital’s response to the concerns raised about Letby prior to her arrest.
The inquiry, known as the Thirlwall inquiry, will delve into the specifics of the murders and attempted murders committed by Letby, examining whether systemic failures in governance contributed to the failure to protect the infants.
The inquiry will also scrutinize the response and conduct of the National Health Service (NHS), its staff, and its regulators.
Key figures in the inquiry will include Alison Kelly, the hospital’s former director of nursing, who was suspended for failing to act on complaints about Letby from doctors. Other staff members involved in the case will also be questioned.
As the inquiry unfolds, Letby is exploring a new defense strategy with a team led by Mark McDonald, who previously represented a nurse accused of multiple patient killings.
McDonald has expressed confidence that new medical evidence, hospital statistics, and expert analysis will reveal significant issues in the case against Letby. He plans to present this new evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), seeking a review of the case by the Court of Appeal.
Victims’ families’ lawyers have voiced concerns about the distress caused by public speculation regarding Letby’s guilt or innocence, especially as some of this speculation has circulated on social media.
Lady Justice Thirlwall stressed at the opening of the inquiry that it is not within her remit to review the conviction, as the Court of Appeal has already addressed this matter.
Prosecutors have detailed how Letby allegedly killed the infants by overfeeding them with milk, poisoning them with insulin, or injecting them with air while they were in the neonatal unit. A chilling handwritten note found in her home read, “I am evil, I did this.”
Letby was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole last year and was later found guilty of a seventh charge of attempted murder after the original jury could not reach a verdict.
During her sentencing, Justice Gross of Manchester Crown Court condemned her actions as entirely contrary to the instinct to nurture and care for babies.
Despite her denials of wrongdoing and the jury’s verdicts, Letby’s case has become a significant point of contention, with criticism directed at the medical and statistical evidence presented during the trials.
The inquiry is expected to continue at least until the end of the year, culminating in a report from Thirlwall. However, the inquiry does not have the authority to make findings of civil or criminal liability.
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