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Lucy Letby is accused of murdering five boys and two girls at the U.K. hospital.
By Megan Quinn — Written on Oct 13, 2022
Unimaginable horror unfolded in the neonatal unit in a UK medical center over the last few years, all allegeldy perpetrated by one nurse.
Lucy Letby is a former neonatal nurse who is currently standing trial for the murder of seven newborns and the attempted murder of 10 more babies.
New details revealed in Lucy Letby's murder trial may point to why the nurse killed babies by poisoning them with air, milk and insulin.
Evidence found in Letby’s home contain her confessions to intentionally killing several infants.
In 2018, police recovered disturbing handwritten notes composed by Letby admitting her crimes.
“I am evil,” the notes read. “I killed them on purpose because I am not good enough to care for them. I am a horrible, evil person.”
Other notes directly contradicted her confession.
“I haven’t done anything wrong, and they have no evidence so why have I to hide it away?” Letby also wrote.
Letby is currently standing trial at Manchester Crown Court on 22 counts — seven counts of murder and 15 counts of attempted murder.
Neonatal nurse Lucy Letby allegedly murdered seven newborns and attempted to kill 10 others by injecting air, milk, and insulin into their bloodstream.
32-year-old Lucy Letby worked as a neonatal nurse at Countess of Chester Hospital in Northwestern England.
She worked the night shifts in the neonatal unit tending to fragile newborns.
During 2015 to 2016, there was a sharp increase in unexplained infant deaths at the hospital.
Investigators and doctors were stumped as to why this kept happening and considered common denominators surrounding the infants’ deaths.
The only conclusive one they discovered was all of their deaths aligned with Letby’s shift hours.
Seven newborns, five boys, and two girls, reportedly died in Letby’s care in 2015 and 2016.
She was accused of injecting air, milk, and insulin into the infants’ bloodstream via IV and breathing tubes.
Letby allegedly attempted to kill one infant three times before doing so on her fourth attempt.
One mother reports she walked in on Letby meddling with her infant, assuring her, “trust me, I’m a nurse” — the newborn died hours later.
The victims consisted of mostly infants who were born premature and were undergoing treatment in the neonatal unit.
Other instances included Letby attempting to murder infants and failing.
On one occasion, she poisoned two newborn boys with insulin when they were only a couple of days old.
Other medical professionals working at the hospital were able to successfully treat them.
In another instance, a doctor intervened while Letby was attempting to murder an infant less than two hours old.
Lucy Letby's defense claims that she was a "dedicated nurse" who did not want to harm infants.
The defense claims that she was a “dedicated nurse" and in “no way did she want to harm them [the infants].”
“She loved her job,” her defense attorney Ben Myers allegedly told the court. “She cared deeply about the babies and also cared for their families.”
Myers also claimed that Letby’s notes were not a murder confession, but rather “the anguished outpouring of a young woman in fear and despair when she realizes the enormity of what is being said about her.”
Myers attempted to deflect blame on the hospital, stating that many of the infants who died were “vulnerable” due to their prematurity and that they should have been placed at a specialist children’s hospital.
Letby has pleaded not guilty to all charges and her trial is expected to last up to six months.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.