18 August 2023 , 12:13
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Evil Lucy Letby is facing life behind bars after being convicted of murdering seven premature babies and trying to kill six more – and police fear there may be more tiny victims of the 'Angel of Death' nurse.
The trial focused on a 12 month period from June 2015 to June 2016. But Letby’s entire nursing career is now under the microscope. It includes her four and a half years on the neo-natal ward at the Countess of Chester Hospital and two placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 2012 and 2015.
Officers are now examining the records of thousands of babies at the two hospitals. Det Supt Paul Hughes, who led Operation Hummingbird, the investigation into Letby, said: “From 2012 through to 2016, there were more than 4,000 admissions of babies into the neonatal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital for us to work through.
“This does not mean we are investigating all 4,000, it just means that we are committed to a thorough review of every admission from a medical perspective, to ensure that nothing is missed throughout the entirety of her employment as a nurse. Only those cases highlighted as concerning medically will be investigated further.”
Letby graduated in nursing in 2011 (Facebook)
She became a poster girl for her hospital's Babygrow Appeal. (MEN Media)He added: “This investigation remains ongoing, through a transparent and open-minded process. The families of all babies, who are part of this investigation, have been informed and are supported.” No suspicious deaths have been identified at Liverpool but police have not commented on the situation at Chester.
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DS Hughes said: “There are a lot of years to go through, a massive amount of medical records, so it would just be unfair to speculate on that at this moment.” In July 2018 police said they were investigating 17 deaths and 15 non-fatal collapses at the Countess.
Letby gave evidence in the witness box for 14 days during the trial. (PA)Letby was eventually charged with seven murders and ten attempted murders. Officers from Cheshire Police had spent months sifting through tens of thousands of medical records, interviewed more than 2,000 people and read more than half a million pages of digital data before she was charged.
They also liaised with detectives who investigated nurse Victorina Chua, 57, who was found guilty of murdering two patients and poisoning 20 others with insulin between 2011 and 2012 at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
Det Chief Insp Nicola Evans, the deputy senior investigating officer, said they were stunned when they realised they had found a killer on the ward at Chester. She said: “It is really hard for everybody to believe that somebody would do this. And that's how the investigation team felt.
“At the beginning, we hoped we wouldn't find a criminal offence, because that meant that we were going to go and tell parents that their children had been murdered.” She added: “It's been a long and emotional investigation for everybody that's involved. Clearly at the heart of that are the families of the babies involved."
A note found in Letby's house (PA)Praising the families she said: “I think what I found overwhelming during the trial is the compassion they have shown to each other and how they have been brought together in such awful circumstances which none of them have asked for.
“Listening to the evidence is really gut-wrenching. Sitting beside them watching it and the courage they show and the strength that they’ve all shown throughout this process is really overwhelming.”
She added: “I think what we can say is absolutely none of them expected that harm would have come to their baby on a neonatal unit. And therefore, they didn't have any suspicions. Because why on earth would they?”
The Countess of Chester Hospital (PA)She said Letby had “operated in plain sight, under a cover of trust”. “She abused the trust of the people around her, not just the parents that had entrusted her with their babies, but also the nurses she worked with and the people that she regarded as friends” she said.
The majority of the witnesses at the trial were Letby’s medical colleagues. DCI Evans said: “They are still involved in caring for babies, the impact on them personally and professionally, has been huge.
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Letby socialised with colleagues and went on holiday with friends.“This is crushingly sad for everybody involved. When you're talking about tiny babies that fit into the palm of your hand. And they are continuing to care for those babies on a day to day basis.”
Officers have not found a motive for Letby’s crimes. DS Hughes said: “Ultimately, and the only person who can answer, in respect of why, Is Lucy Letby herself. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever know unless she decides to tell us.”
DCI Evans said: “The objective of our investigation was to provide the families and the parents of these babies the answers as to what's happened to their child. And I do believe we've got some way to do that.
“We haven't answered all of those questions. And ultimately, one of the things that we haven't answered is 'why?'. And that might be something that we never answer and that's really hard to take.”
She added: “During the trial, I think she has been described as being calculated and callous and there has been a lack of emotion from Lucy Letby during this whole process in relation to the babies and the subject that we're talking about.
“I don't think anybody could sit and listen to the evidence that we've heard and not feel some level of sadness. I don't think we have experienced that from Lucy Letby or seen that from her during the trial.”