Nurse Lucy Letby will spend the rest of her life behind bars for killing seven newborns, a British judge ruled on Monday. Letby is the UK’s deadliest serial killer of babies. This horror story has been happening behind the walls of the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England for 13 months since 2015. During that time, the 33-year-old accused killed five boys and two girls by injecting them with insulin or air, or force-feeding them milk.
Some of the babies this nurse attacked were twins: in one case she murdered both siblings, in another she killed two of three triplets and twice killed a twin but failed in her attempts to kill the other. “It was a cruel, calculated and cynical campaign against the youngest and most vulnerable children,” said Judge James Goss, who sentenced the defendant to life in prison with no possibility of release. “There was a deep malice in his actions that bordered on sadism (…). He has no regrets. There are no extenuating factors… He will spend the rest of his life in prison,” he added, while the victims’ parents sobbed in the room.
Life sentences are very rare and only three women in the UK have ever received such a sentence. They were Myra Hindley, who, along with her boyfriend, raped, tortured and killed three children and two teenagers in 1963; Rosemary West, who tortured and murdered at least nine young women in the 1970s and 1980s, and Joanna Dennehy, who killed three men in the so-called Peterborough Trench Killings in 2013.
The police have found no motive for their crimes. Judge Goss has admitted only Letby knows the reasons for his actions. “He acted totally contrary to normal human instincts for raising and caring for babies,” the judge added. She ruled that the defendants’ protestations that she did everything possible to look after her young patients was “one of the many lies” she told throughout the trial. “There is no doubt that she is intelligent and was, on the surface, a very conscientious, diligent and knowledgeable nurse; This allowed him to harm the babies,” he concluded.
For her part, the nurse refused to leave her cell to hear her verdict, which has led to calls for criminals to be forced to hear the impact of their actions on their victims or their families. The mother of one of the dead babies called Letby’s decision a last act of evil.
The heartbreaking crimes committed by Letby, who were 25 and 26 at the time of the murders, have shocked Britain, shattered the lives of many families and caused lasting harm to his colleagues.
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Last week the utility was found guilty of seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder after a 10-month trial at Manchester Crown Court. The jury disagreed on whether he tried to kill six other babies. She was acquitted on two other charges of attempted murder.
The court had previously heard harrowing testimonies from parents of victims and survivors, describing the trauma and “excruciating agony” it had inflicted on them. “Lucy Letby ruined our lives. “The anger and hate I feel towards her will never go away,” the triplets’ father said.
A mother of twins, one of whom was murdered, wished the Rea would live long and spent each day grieving over what she had done. “My family will never think of you again. As of today, you’re nothing,” he added.
The case has drawn national attention. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was “cowardly” that Letby did not want to see the ramifications of his actions firsthand. Currently, UK law allows judges to increase prison sentences for those who fail to appear, but the government is now considering making attendance mandatory. “That’s something we’ll bring up in due course,” Sunak said.
The government has also ordered an investigation into the case, as several doctors at the neonatal unit where Letby committed his crimes say they have shared their suspicions with the hospital’s leaders and have not been listened to.
Sunak has stressed the importance of families getting the answers they need and that investigations be conducted as quickly and transparently as possible.
Police are also investigating another 4,000 admissions to neonatal units where Letby worked to see if there are other victims.
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