Nurse Accused Of Killing Babies At U.K. Hospital Sentenced To Life In Prison

UPDATE: 08/21/23

On Aug. 21, 2023, former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of release for the murders of seven babies.

Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies in her care and trying to kill six others between June 2015 and June 2016 at the Countess of Chester hospital in the United Kingdom.

According to the Associated Press, Letby was given the most severe punishment possible under British law, which does not allow the death penalty.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: 10/13/22

Nurse Accused Of Killing Babies At U.K. Hospital Allegedly Wrote Note Saying “I Am Evil"

Nurse Lucy Letby has been accused of killing seven babies between June 2015 and June 2016 at the Countess of Chester hospital in the United Kingdom. The 32-year-old nurse allegedly murdered two baby girls and five baby boys in addition to the alleged attempted murder of 10 other babies, according to the BBC.

On Oct. 10, 2022, Letby pleaded not guilty to the 22 charges against her when she appeared at Manchester Crown Court in England.

Attorney Nick Johnson, who was speaking for the prosecution, said that the child deaths at the Countess of Chester hospital were in a normal, statistically comparable range to other hospitals in the U.K. before January 2015. However, that tragically changed over the next year and a half when there was a “significant rise in the number of babies who were dying and in the number of serious catastrophic collapses," according to The Independent.

Johnson explained that Letby had been a “poisoner” at work during this time frame. An investigation was launched into the sudden increase in deaths and serious medical complications, and that’s when hospital authorities uncovered that Letby was present in all these situations. This pattern of tragedy moved with Letby when she was given different work hours, reported PEOPLE.

Johnson showed the jury a chart that revealed Letby was the only one present during all three of the initial killings. He also revealed the disturbing fact that the nurse would sometimes try to repeatedly kill the same baby when her initial attempts failed.

The Times reported that Letby is accused of poisoning the babies with insulin. No motive has been revealed for the murders. Letby received her nursing degree at the University of Chester and had qualified only a few years before the baby deaths began.

On Oct. 13, the prosecution presented several handwritten Post-it notes in which Letby allegedly confessed to killing the babies. According to PEOPLE, she allegedly wrote in one of the notes, "I am a horrible evil person" and then wrote in capital letters: "I AM EVIL I DID THIS." She also allegedly wrote, “I killed them on purpose because I'm not good enough to care for them.”

Letby’s trail may last up to six months.