In a sweeping investigation published in The New Yorker, it has been suggested that British authorities may have ignored evidence in a rush to convict neonatal nurse Lucy Letby of killing seven babies and attempting to kill six others while working at a hospital in northwest England in 2015 and 2016. The trial lasted for 10 months, with the jury deliberating for 22 days before reaching a verdict which led to Letby being sentenced to life in prison. The article highlights the contrast between the vilification of Letby by the British tabloids and the trial judge, and the way she was perceived by friends and colleagues who knew her as a psychologically healthy and happy person.
The New Yorker article delves into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of a cluster of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital while Letby was working there, suggesting that these deaths may not have been crimes at all. The hospital was plagued by underfunding, shortages in staff and medical equipment, as well as plumbing problems causing sewage backups. The high mortality rate in England and Wales in 2015 is also noted, and Letby was found to be the common element in the cluster of neonatal deaths at the hospital.
Following the deaths of three babies in June 2015, Letby was devastated and blamed herself, according to text messages shared with The New Yorker. The head of Letby’s neonatal unit had initially expressed no concerns about her practice, but later grew suspicious along with the head of the pediatrics ward. Letby was removed from her duties and filed a grievance against the hospital which was initially found in her favor. However, her colleagues continued to express concerns, eventually leading to Letby’s conviction.
The investigation also found that police discovered a handwritten note at Letby’s house with phrases that they believed were incriminating, including statements like “I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them.” At her trial, Letby explained that she was expressing her self-doubts and what other people had made her feel. The jury relied heavily on a staffing chart presented during the trial which showed Letby as the common element in 24 “suspicious incidents” in the neonatal unit. However, the premise of the diagram was flawed, and Letby’s defense team argued that some incidents had been cherry-picked to incriminate her.
In December 2023, Letby lost her nursing credentials and her name was removed from the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s register. She is currently waiting to hear whether a court will allow her to appeal her conviction, and is facing another trial next month on an attempted murder charge that the previous jury could not reach a verdict on. The case of Lucy Letby raises questions about the rush to convict her and whether evidence may have been ignored in the process.
