Speculation over evil Lucy Letby’s convictions has caused victims’ families ‘enormous emotional distress’, inquiry told
SPECULATION over baby killer Lucy Letby has caused "enormous additional distress" to the parents of her victims, a public inquiry heard.
The evil nurse is serving 15 whole-life orders for murdering seven babies in a year-long reign of terror.
Letby, 34, also tried to kill seven others - including one baby twice - at Countess of Chester Hospital.
Her evil crimes are now the focus of a long-awaited public inquiry chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall.
Opening the probe today, she referred to Letby losing a Court of Appeal bid to challenge her convictions from the first trial.
The chairwoman said: "That judgment marked a watershed. At last the parents had finality, or so it seemed. But it was not to be.
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"In the months that followed… there has been a huge outpouring of comment from a variety of quarters on the validity of the convictions.
"As far as I am aware it has come entirely from people who were not at the trial. Parts of the evidence has been selected and there has been criticism of the defence at the trial.
"All of this noise has caused enormous additional distress to the parents who have already suffered far too much.
"It is not for me to set about reviewing the convictions. The Court of Appeal has done that with a very clear result."
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Her comments come as questions continue to be raised over Letby's trial and subsequent conviction.
Doctors, experts and scientists have publicly challenged how the evidence was presented to jurors.
Solicitor Tamlin Bolton who is representing the families of six victims, said the speculation has been "upsetting".
The investigation at Liverpool Town Hall will explore how Letby was able to attack babies on the neo-natal unit between 2015 and 2016.
It will also examine the experiences of the parents of the tragic tots and why it took so long for the nurse to be removed from the ward before her arrest.
Lady Justice Thirlwall previously compared the case to Angel of Death Beverley Allitt, who murdered four children and attempted to kill nine others in Lincolnshire in 1991.
She said: "Everyone was determined that it would not happen again. It has happened again. This is utterly unacceptable."
Timeline of horror - how Letby targeted babies
Lucy Letby carried out her horrific crimes in a year-long period at Countess of Chester Hospital.
She 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 .
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.
Letby declared "I'm innocent" as she was handed another life order in July after being found guilty of attempted murder on a baby girl following a retrial.
In May, Letby lost a Court of Appeal bid to challenge her convictions from the first trial.
But her new legal team is planning to apply to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to ask it to return the case to the court.
Lawyer Mark McDonald claims new medical evidence and expert opinion had revealed "flaws" in the prosecution case.
Letby became only the fourth woman ever to be handed whole life tariff after Rose West, Joanna Dennehy and Myra Hindley when she was sentenced last August.
She had been convicted of seven counts of murder 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.
At a retrial in July, she was convicted of trying to kill a seventh child - a premature baby girl so small she could fit in the palm of the nurse's hand.
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A court order prohibits reporting of the identities of the surviving and dead children involved in the case.
The inquiry continues.
The charges Letby has been convicted of in full
Child A, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby injected air intravenously into the bloodstream of the baby boy. COUNT 1 GUILTY.
Child B, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby attempted to murder the baby girl, the twin sister of Child A, by injecting air into her bloodstream. COUNT 2 GUILTY.
Child C, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said Letby forced air down a feeding tube and into the stomach of the baby boy. COUNT 3 GUILTY.
Child D, allegation of murder. The Crown said air was injected intravenously into the baby girl. COUNT 4 GUILTY.
Child E, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby murdered the twin baby boy with an injection of air into the bloodstream and also deliberately caused bleeding to the infant. COUNT 5 GUILTY.
Child F, allegation of attempted murder. Letby was said by prosecutors to have poisoned the twin brother of Child E with insulin. COUNT 6 GUILTY.
Child G, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby targeted the baby girl by overfeeding her with milk and pushing air down her feeding tube. COUNT 7 GUILTY, COUNT 8 GUILTY, COUNT 9 NOT GUILTY.
Child H, two allegations of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby sabotaged the care of the baby girl in some way which led to two profound oxygen desaturations. COUNT 10 NOT GUILTY, COUNT 11 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child I, allegation of murder. The prosecution said Letby killed the baby girl at the fourth attempt and had given her air and overfed her with milk. COUNT 12 GUILTY.
Child J, allegation of attempted murder. No specific form of harm was identified by the prosecution but they said Letby did something to cause the collapse of the baby girl. COUNT 13 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child K, allegation of attempted murder. The prosecution said Letby compromised the baby girl as she deliberately dislodged a breathing tube. COUNT 14 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT AT ORIGINAL TRIAL, NOW GUILTY AFTER RETRIAL
Child L, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said the nurse poisoned the twin baby boy with insulin. COUNT 15 GUILTY.
Child M, allegation of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby injected air into the bloodstream of Child L's twin brother. COUNT 16 GUILTY.
Child N, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby inflicted trauma in the baby boy's throat and also injected him with air in the bloodstream. COUNT 17 GUILTY, COUNT 18 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT, COUNT 19 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child O, allegation of murder. Prosecutors say Letby attacked the triplet boy by injecting him with air, overfeeding him with milk and inflicting trauma to his liver with "severe force". COUNT 20 GUILTY.
Child P, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said the nurse targeted the triplet brother of Child O by overfeeding him with milk, injecting air and dislodging his breathing tube. COUNT 21 GUILTY.
Child Q, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby injected the baby boy with liquid, and possibly air, down his feeding tube. COUNT 22 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
