UK children’s nurse Lucy Letby charged with murder of eight babies

Lucy Letby, 30, has faced a British court, accused of murdering eight babies, five boys and three girls, in a 12-month killing spree.

Lucy Letby, 30, worked at Countess of Chester Hospital from 2011 until 2018. Picture: Press Association

A neonatal nurse, Lucy Letby, has faced a British court, accused of murdering eight babies, five boys and three girls, in a 12-month killing spree at a Chester hospital in late 2015 and early 2016.

The 30-year-old nurse is also charged with attempted murder of another 10 babies — five boys and five girls — and has been remanded in custody and the case transferred to a higher court.

During a 14-minute hearing on Thursday where Ms Letby confirmed her name, address and date of birth, but did not enter a plea, the names of the babies who were believed murdered were released.

They were Cemlyn Bennett who died on June 8, 2015, Joseph Johnson between June 12 and 15, 2015, Elsie McNall on June 22, 2015, Barney Gee between August 2 and August 5, 2015, Daisy Parkin between October 21 and October 24, 2015, Maddie Freed on February 20, 2016, Joseph Gelder on June 23, 2016 and Eli Gelder on June 24, 2016.

The names of the babies Ms Letby is accused of attempting to murder have been restricted by an order of the court.

The babies were all patients at the Countess of Chester hospital in Chester, where Ms Letby worked as a nurse.

A police investigation began in 2017 to uncover the causes of a spike of deaths of 17 babies and 16 non-fatal collapses of babies from March 2015 until July 2016 at the Chester hospital.

Ms Letby, from Hereford, was arrested in 2018 and again in 2019 but was bailed while investigations continued.

On Tuesday this week she was re-arrested and charged with the murder of eight babies and attempted murders of 10 babies.

Families involved were able to watch the court proceedings — held during a national lockdown because of coronavirus — via a video link.

Solicitor Neil Fern, representing some of the families, said family members believe the charges are a significant step forward to uncovering the truth.

“The families are overwhelmed with the news and there is a mix of emotion. All the families now have hope that they can finally start to learn the truth of what happened in the first days of their children’s lives,” Mr Fern said.

“We have been working with the families for many years on these cases and they have had to live with the consequences for all that time.”

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Hughes, of Cheshire Police, said: “Parents of all the babies have been kept fully updated on this latest development and they are continuing to be supported throughout the process by specially trained officers.”