Lucy Letby Chester nurse charged with murder of eight baby deaths & attempted murder of another 10 appears in court. Bail revoked. Motive unknown.
A UK nurse accused of murdering eight babies in an alleged ‘year-long killing spree’ at a hospital neonatal unit in Chester has appeared in court.
Lucy Letby, 31, appeared at Manchester Crown Court for a case management hearing via videolink from HMP Peterborough local media reported.
Letby, originally from Hereford, is alleged to have murdered five baby boys and three baby girls while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital. All victims were aged less than 1 years old.
The Chester University graduate, who was once the face of a £3million fundraising campaign, is also accused of the attempted murder of five baby boys and five baby girls between June 2015 and June 2016.
She was arrested in 2018 and 2019 as part of a police investigation at the hospital, which was launched in 2017. At the time of each arrest the accused woman was afforded bail pending further inquiries.
Hereford nurse denies murdering 8 babies & attempted murder of another ten
Dream job
Come Tuesday, Letby, was arrested for a third time after a three-year probe into the deaths at the hospital’s neonatal unit the UK’s Sun reported.
Police launched the investigation after the hospital raised concerns at the high number of deaths between March 2015 and July 2016 – which were said to be 10 per cent above average.
An internal inquiry was undertaken when medics found premature babies had died following heart and lung failure, but were unusually impossible to resuscitate.
At the time of her initial arrest, a friend of Letby’s described her as a ‘professional nurse’ who was dedicated to her ‘dream job’ and ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’.
According to those who knew her, Letby was determined to take up nursing after leaving her comprehensive school in Hereford, with the nurse coming to work at Chester Hospital soon after graduating in 2013.
Letby appeared before Mr Justice Dove at the brief hearing on Monday with the incarcerated woman confirming her name and that she was able to hear the proceedings.
The 25-minute hearing on Monday dealt with administrative and case management matters ahead of a trial next year. An application for bail was refused.
No known motive
A provisional date for her trial has been set for January 11, 2022, but there is a possibility that this could be delayed.
The matter will be before the court again on May 17 in a further case management hearing.
Letby has yet to enter any pleas.
It remained unclear what could have motivated the nursing progency allegedly killing her baby victims whose lives were in her hands and whose trust by the hospital and children’s parents she is accused of having so violently betrayed.
