7 infants were murdered by a nurse in the UK
Nurse Lucy Letby, who has been convicted of murdering seven infants, making her the UK’s most prolific child serial killer in modern history, is set to be sentenced following a lengthy 10-month trial, which is considered the longest in the country.
The 33-year-old nurse, also found guilty of attempting to murder six more infants at the Countess of Chester Hospital, will not be physically present during the sentencing at Manchester Crown Court, as reported by the BBC. Her legal team has not provided a reason for her absence from the court and has stated that she does not wish to follow the proceedings via a video link from prison.
Letby, known as the “killer nurse,” intentionally administered air injections to some babies, force-fed others milk, and poisoned two infants with insulin between June 2015 and June 2016. She had declined to appear in the dock when the latest guilty verdicts were delivered on August 18, which were revealed over several hearings but could not be reported until all verdicts were returned.
Originally from Hereford, Letby broke down in tears when the jury’s foreman announced the first guilty verdicts on August 8 after 76 hours of deliberation. She continued to cry with her head bowed as the second set of guilty verdicts was delivered on August 11.
However, Letby was found not guilty of two attempted murder charges, and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on additional attempted murder charges related to four babies, according to the BBC.
During the trial, which began in October 2022, the prosecution characterized Letby as a “calculating and devious” opportunist who manipulated colleagues to conceal her “murderous assaults.” Her conviction followed a two-year investigation by Cheshire Police into the unexplained increase in deaths and near-fatal incidents involving premature babies at the hospital.
