Britain’s most prolific child killer, Lucy Letby, has been found guilty of attempting to murder a premature baby girl following a retrial

Monster ’caught virtually red-handed’ standing over stricken tot

Britain’S most prolific child killer Lucy Letby has been convicted of trying to murder a premature baby girl following a retrial.

The evil nurse was previously convicted of murdering seven babies in a year-long reign of terror at Countess of Chester Hospital.

Lucy Letby has been convicted of attempting to murder a baby girlCredit: PA

Letby, 34, also attempted to kill six others and was handed a whole life order that means she will be never be released from prison.

She was today convicted of attempting to murder a baby girl by dislodging her breathing tube less than two hours after she was born.

Jurors at her original trial were unable to reach verdicts on the count - meaning she underwent a retrial.

Baby K’s parents gasped then cried as the verdict was returned in just under four hours of deliberation, while callous Letby showed no emotion.

They later spoke of the "heartbreak" and "devastation" the killer nurse has caused them.

The grieving mum and dad added: "We can’t explain how we are feeling at this moment in time.

"To lose a baby is a heartbreaking experience that no parent should ever go through. To lose and baby and then learn of the harm she has suffered is unimaginable.

"Over the past seven to eight years we have had to go through a long, tortuous and emotional journey – twice."

They told how they had mourned for their "precious" baby following her death, only to be told years later Letby had targeted her.

The parents added: "Justice has been served, and a nurse who should have been caring for our daughter has been found guilty of harming her. But this justice will not take away the extreme, hurt, anger and distress that we have all had to experience.

"It also doesn’t provide us with an explanation as to why these crimes have taken place. We are heartbroken, devastated, angry…and we may never truly know what happened."

The court heard the tot was born "extremely premature" on February 17, 2016 - weighing just 1lb 80z.

Around two hours after she was born, Letby was "caught virtually red-handed" trying to kill the baby, who was described as the "epitome of fragility".

A senior consultant paediatrician saw the nurse standing over the cot "doing nothing" as Baby K’s blood oxygen levels dipped.

Evil Letby even tampered with the baby’s breathing tube twice more on the same night in a bid to convince her colleagues the tot was dislodging it herself.

Baby K was transported to Arrowe Park Hospital and sadly died three days later - although prosecutors do not believe the nurse caused her death.

Our daughter was in my husband’s arms when she took her last breath and silently passed away.

Baby K’s Mum

The child’s mum wept as she told the court how her baby passed away in her husband’s arms following the horror.

Recalling how she had the "strangest feeling" something was wrong, she added: "The doctor confirmed the worst. I asked if it was just a waiting game now or if she was going to get better.

"We had a long conversation and she said what happens next was entirely our decision.

"I remember saying to the doctor that she had been poked and prodded from the moment she was born. Her tiny little delicate body had swollen up so much we didn’t want her to be suffering any more.

"We didn’t want to be informed that we’d lost our little girl by alarms on the machines going off. We didn’t want to prolong things any more.

"We made the decision together to switch off the machines and let her go. It was by far the hardest decision of my life.

"One of the staff showed us to a family room where it was peaceful and quiet. Our daughter was wrapped in a blanket and was wearing a little hat. Our daughter was in my husband’s arms when she took her last breath and silently passed away."

More than two years later, Letby searched on Facebook for Baby K’s surname - a similar pattern of behaviour for the monster.

Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said: "The truth is that Lucy Letby had a fascination with the babies she had murdered and attempted to murder, and with their families.

"She took pleasure in her murderous handiwork."

But giving evidence, Letby told lie after lie as she claimed she no recollection of the heartbreaking events.

She even continued to maintain her innocence over her previous grisly crimes.

The nurse, who had attempted to get the case thrown out, also said she was "not the sort of person that kills babies".

’Poisoner at work’

Letby became only the fourth woman ever to be handed whole life tariff after Rose West, Joanna Dennehy and Myra Hindley.

She was convicted of seven counts of murder on Friday following a nine-month trial and 22 days of jury deliberation.

Letby was also found guilty of attempting to murder a further six babies during her year-long killing spree.

The monster used insulin and air to inject newborns while working on the neo-natal ward.

The collapses and deaths of the children were not “naturally-occurring tragedies” and instead the gruesome work of “poisoner” Letby.

Her rampage was finally uncovered after staff grew suspicious of the "significant rise" in the number of babies dying or suffering "catastrophic" collapses.

Letby was found to be the "common denominator" among the horrifying incidents.

Officers then searched her three-bedroom home in Chester and discovered a chilling cache of evidence.

The nurse had scribbled haunting notes in diaries and on Post-It notes, including one that read: "I am evil I did this."

The note added: "I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them.

"I am a horrible person."

A probe into whether Letby harmed any other babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital is ongoing.

A corporate manslaughter investigation is also ongoing.

Speaking after the verdict, Senior Crown Prosecutor Nicola Wyn Williams, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire’s Complex Casework Unit, branded Letby a cold-blooded, calculated killer".

She added: “Lucy Letby has continually denied that she tried to kill this baby or any of the babies that she has been convicted of murdering or attempting to murder.

"The jury has heard all of the detailed evidence including from her in her own defence and formed its own view.

“The grief that the family of Baby K have felt is unimaginable. Our thoughts remain with them and all those affected by this case at this time.”

Letby was remanded into custody to be sentenced on Friday.

Thomas Brown