Lucy Letby was grinning poster girl for hospital before monster killed 7 babies

01 September 2023 , 17:17

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Lucy Letby has been given a whole life order for her crimes (Image: Cheshire Constabulary/AFP via Ge)

Lucy Letby was the grinning poster girl for her hospital before the evil nurse killed seven babies.

A chilling photo has emerged of the 33-year-old serial killer comforting a newborn tot as she poses at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Smiling broadly in her uniform, the twisted murderer leans over the baby in a cot with her hand on its stomach.

The snap was emblazoned across an entire page in the 2012-2013 annual report. The paper boasted about the Cheshire trust being among the few in the UK to achieve the highest levels of "safe care". Letby also appeared in promotional material in 2013 for the hospital's BabyGrow appeal, raising funds for a new neonatal unit.

Letby comforting a newborn as she poses as a poster girl for the Countess of Chester Hospital (Countess of Chester Hospital)

In a staff profile piece, she said: "My role involves caring for a wide range of babies requiring various levels of support. Some are here for a few days, others for many months and I enjoy seeing them progress and supporting their families." Last month, Letby refused to attend her sentencing where she was given a whole life order in prison for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six more between 2015 and 2016.

Under new government reforms, following Letby's no show, judges will be able to order an offender to attend their hearings, and it will be enshrined in law that custody officers can use reasonable force to make criminals appear in the dock or via video link. Cheshire Police are now also investigating her entire career, including the period the promotional image was taken.

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It comes after a mum discovered a photo of the murderer with her poorly baby at his christening, and has called for his death to be re-examined. Emily Morris' one-month-old son Alvin was treated at the unit where Letby worked in 2013. She said the nurse told her the tot's condition was deteriorating the night before his death and said it was like "she was hinting that she did something".

Letby was working on the unit where baby Alvin died

Emily, 35, from Deeside, Flintshire, said the snap left her feeling "sickened". A police probe concluded in 2018 that there were no suspicious circumstances in Alvin's death. The mum and partner Mark Lewis saw the photo for the first time this week after it was found stored on a disc in a memory box that had previously failed to download.

Det Supt Paul Hughes of Cheshire Police said the force was "committed to a complete and thorough investigation into the full period of time that Lucy Letby was employed as a nurse". 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. We will of course provide a more detailed update when we can."

The UK's Department of Health and Social Care has ordered an independent inquiry into the circumstances around the deaths and how Letby was able to carry out her killing spree.

Ryan Merrifield