Lucy Letby - The Complete Story E-Book

Katherine Smith

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 377

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

In August, 2023, Lucy Letby was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order, the most severe sentence possible under English law. Only three other female criminals had ever received a whole life order - Myra Hindley, Rose West, and Joanna Dennehy. How did a smiling, happy young nurse from Hereford end up with Dennehy, Hindley, and Rose West in a little exclusive club of evil? Lucy Letby - The Complete Story provides a comprehensive overview of this awful case - including extensive coverage of what became the longest murder trial in Britain.

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Lucy Letby - The Complete Story  

Katherine Smith© Copyright 2023 Katherine Smith

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ContentsAuthor's NoteChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter Fourteen Chapter FifteenReferencesAUTHOR'S NOTEThis book concerns an awful and distressing crime case that is still very fresh in the memory. I hope that this book approaches the case in a sensitive, informative and tactful way. The thoughts of everyone are of course with the victims in this case and the families involved. A list of salient references used in the research for this book can be found at the conclusion of the final chapter. CHAPTER ONEIt has been estimated by some studies that around 15% of serial killers are women - though some might find this surprising or even dispute the veracity of such studies. Female serial killers are generally more likely to know their victims. Female serial killers are also more likely to work in the medical profession in some capacity than their male counterparts. A recent study in the United States found that 40% of female serial killers worked in the health care system - most commonly as nurses. Female serial killers are much less likely to have prior criminal convictions than male serial killers and this, one might argue, makes it harder to see them coming. Serial killers in the medical world tap into primal fears because we and our loved ones are at our most vulnerable in hospital and must put our faith in the kindness and professionalism of doctors and nurses.Lucy Letby was born in Hereford in 1990. She was an only child. Her father John was a furniture salesman and her mother Susan was an accounts clerk. When they retired, Letby's parents are said to have started a home business selling radiators. Lucy Letby grew up in a semi-detached house in Hereford's Arran Avenue, a small cul-de-sac off Hinton Road. Letby, in comparison to most convicted serial killers, had a perfectly normal and pleasant childhood. Hereford is located on the River Wye and is surrounded by beautiful countryside, making it a popular destination for outdoor activities such as hiking and canoeing. From a young age, Lucy Letby was taken to church each Sunday at the Hope City Church. There were no obvious signs which marked Letby out as a disturbed or potentially dangerous person. Lucy Letby was described as 'geeky' by many of her friends. She was seen as a kind person who liked to have fun. Letby was also a good student who took school seriously. She attended Aylestone School before going on to Hereford Sixth Form College. Aylestone School was established as a comprehensive following the merger of Hereford High School for Girls and Hereford High School for Boys in 1976. Former pupils of this school include the weather forecaster Susan Powell and the Bath rugby player Josh McNally. Lucy Letby's fame would eventually outstrip anyone who had previously attended this school. That was tough luck on Aylestone School because Letby obviously became famous in the worst way imaginable. Lucy Letby had always wanted to be a nurse ever since she was a child. To this end her academic studies were designed to move her in this direction. Letby was the first person in her family to go to university (her parents actually took out a celebration advert in the local newspaper when she graduated - something which most teenagers, one would imagine, would probably find a bit embarrassing) and studied paediatric nursing at the University of Chester. Paediatric nursing is a specialised field of nursing that focuses on providing care to infants and children. Paediatric nurses are responsible for a wide range of duties, including conducting physical examinations, administering medications, monitoring vital signs, and assisting with procedures and treatments. They also educate patients and their families about health conditions and provide support during difficult times. A paediatric nurse is someone with a profound responsibility because there is nothing more precious and priceless than a person's child. During her studies, Letby had a number of work placements. These were mostly at Liverpool Women's Hospital and the Countess of Chester Hospital. It was the latter rather than the former where Letby spent the most time (this was obviously a consequence of its closer proximity to the university). Letby qualified as a Band 5 nurse in September 2011. She now had a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Nursing from the University of Chester. A Band 5 nurse is someone who is newly qualified or works within one of the four core NHS specialisms: adult, child, mental health and learning disabilities. Letby's salary as a starting Band 5 nurse would have been about £28,000 a year. Although there appears to be no evidence yet that Letby was involved in any suspicious deaths during placements at Liverpool Women's Hospital a full investigation into her time there has yet to be completed. It was at the Countess of Chester Hospital where Letby worked after qualifying as a nurse. In 2013, Letby was interviewed by the Chester Standard newspaper as part of a fundraiser for the hospital. "My role involves caring for a wide range of babies requiring various levels of support," said Letby. "Some are here for a few days, others for many months and I enjoy seeing them progress and supporting their families. I am currently undergoing extra training in order to develop and enhance my knowledge and skills within the Intensive Care area and have recently completed a placement at Liverpool Women’s Hospital."By 2015 Letby had become qualified to work with babies in the intensive care unit and so worked in the neonatal unit. A neonatal unit, also known as a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), is a hospital unit that provides intensive care for newborn infants who require medical attention. These infants, often referred to as neonates, may be premature, have a low birth weight, or have medical conditions that require immediate intervention and monitoring. Neonatal units are equipped with advanced medical equipment and a highly skilled healthcare team, including neonatologists, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other specialists. A neonatal unit is designed to provide a controlled environment with specialised incubators and equipment to maintain the temperature, humidity, and oxygen levels optimal for the newborns' well-being. Lucy Letby had her first shift as a student nurse at the neonatal unit in the Countess of Chester Hospital on June 1, 2010. At the time the infant mortality rate at the hospital have the same average as any other hospital. In the months to follow this would - tragically - no longer be the case. The Countess of Chester Hospital was designated as a 'level two' unit. This meant it could provide care for fragile babies up to 48 hours. After this they would be transferred to a level 3 unit (a level three unit is designed to care for babies who have more serious medical conditions) in another hospital. The neonatal unit which Letby worked in had four rooms - each with different specialist care. Letby, as we shall see, was always especially eager to be in room one - which supplied the most intensive care. Babies would be moved around the rooms if they required a specific treatment. The unit was a very secure place with two locked doors. One was for staff and one was for the public (parents and grandparents of the babies). Both of the doors were controlled with electronic swipe cards so that it would be difficult for any unauthorised person to enter the unit. To those that knew Lucy Letby, she seemed perfectly normal. Letby attended salsa classes and went to the gym. She liked to go out eating and drinking with friends and enjoyed holidays abroad (Letby would sometimes also go on holidays in Britain with her parents - which you could say was a trifle odd for a grown adult woman). Letby was considered to be a normal fun loving young woman. Some have suggested that there is something a little 'off' about the photographs of Letby with her friends. Her habit of pulling funny faces, some contend, is a sign of someone trying too hard in pretending to be a normal person. It's impossible now not to look for hidden clues in Letby's past in light of the knowledge of what would happen in her future. Whether these clues are really there is hard to say. If they do exist they are a long way from obvious. Letby lived in hospital staff accommodation for a time before moving to a flat in Chester. Lucy Letby eventually lived on Westbourne Road when she became infamous. Her parents had helped her purchase a semi-detached house. The house was about a mile away from the hospital. Letby had two cats (Tigger and Smudge) and a fondness for cuddly toys - the latter betraying a childlike quality. Those that worked with Letby in the hospital had found her to be competent and caring. That was the facade which Lucy Letby apparently presented to the world. Letby has since been called a sociopath and psychopath - though there was no sign of these conditions in Letby prior to her employment as a nurse. Sociopaths lack a sense of responsibility or a social conscience. They are prone to antisocial behaviour. They can then tilt into becoming a psychopath. People with a sociopathic disorder typically exhibit a lack of empathy, remorse, and a disregard for the rights and feelings of others. They often engage in manipulative and deceitful behaviour, and may have difficulty forming meaningful relationships. Sociopaths may also display impulsive and aggressive tendencies, and may engage in criminal behaviour.A psychopath has even less of a moral compass than a sociopath. 'Psychopathy,' wrote NCBI Resources, 'is a constellation of psychological symptoms that typically emerges early in childhood and affects all aspects of a sufferer’s life including relationships with family, friends, work, and school. The symptoms of psychopathy include shallow affect, lack of empathy, guilt and remorse, irresponsibility, and impulsivity. While the typical non-psychopathic felon may ponder and struggle with life on the outside and with changing his criminal ways, the typical psychopath returns to his life of crime, and often violent and sexual crime, in the same way he does everything—impulsively, selfishly and without any regard to the rights of others, rights he does not even notice.'Lucy Letby's friends and family never saw anything of the 'night' about their friend and relative. In fact, they all supported Lucy Letby throughout her trial and refused to believe she could be guilty. Even after the trial some friends and nursing colleagues still couldn't accept that Letby could have done these awful things. This is certainly not unusual in true crime cases. The most famous example of this phenomenon is Ted Bundy's mother Louise. Louise steadfastly refused to accept that her lovely kind son Ted was a serial killer. "Ted Bundy does not go around killing women and little children!" she told The News Tribune in 1980 after Bundy was convicted for the Florida killings. "And I know this, too, that our never-ending faith in Ted - our faith that he is innocent - has never wavered. And it never will." On his last night before execution, Ted Bundy called his mother twice. She told him he was still her son whatever had happened. Harold Shipman's wife supported her infamous husband to the bitter end and simply refused to countenance that her dear Harold could deliberately have killed all those old ladies. Friends and relatives of killers only see a public side of their loved one - the side that person wants them to see. It is often difficult for relatives of serial killers to accept that the person they have known for many years and in many cases lived with was not the person they thought. This is perhaps a perfectly understandable instinct and reaction. The friends and relatives of serial killers often go into denial because they don't want to believe the terrible things being said about their loved one. Letby's first charged victim, Baby A (the babies in this case obviously have their identity protected and can't be named in public), was a male twin who was born premature. This was the 8th of June, 2015. The baby was in the neonatal unit as a precaution but not considered to be in danger. Lucy Letby as a specialist was the baby's designated nurse when her shift began. Around 90 minutes after Letby began her shift the child was dead. Letby is believed to have injected the baby with air. An air embolism occurs when a bubble of air or gas enters a blood vessel and blocks the flow of blood. This can happen if air is accidentally injected into a vein during medical procedures such as surgery, catheter insertion, or intravenous therapy. It can also occur if a wound is open to the air, allowing air to enter the bloodstream. The consequences of an air embolism are dependent on the size and location of the bubble. Small bubbles may be harmless and eventually dissolve on their own, while larger bubbles can cause significant problems. If the air embolism travels to the heart or lungs, it can impair blood flow and oxygen delivery, leading to symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, rapid heart rate, or even cardiac arrest. If the embolism travels to the brain, it can cause stroke-like symptoms, including confusion, numbness, or weakness on one side of the body. Only two weeks before the death of Baby A, Letby had done a training course which qualified her to inject patients. This training course featured a module on the dangers of air embolus.  As far as Letby's MO went, she would resort to different methods of murder. The end result was - tragically - usually the same. It is impossible for any normal person to comprehend how anyone could harm an innocent and vulnerable baby. Normal people have a human failsafe system. We have compassion, empathy, guilt, and an instinct to look after and protect the most vulnerable. Serial killers do not have these qualities. This is what makes them capable of doing the most awful things. It was perhaps inevitable that Lucy Letby would come to be compared to Beverly Allitt. Until Allitt and Lucy Letby at least, Britain didn't seem to have suffered as many 'Angel of Death' medical killers as other places but one such tragic case was Allitt. Beverly Allitt was a nurse who killed four infants and children and tried to kill many more. She is a deeply disturbed and dangerous woman. Alliitt was born in Lincolnshire in 1968. She was pretty odd from a young age and would fake illness to get attention. She famously had a healthy healthy appendix removed for no reason - such was her ability to pretend she was poorly or suffering from something. Allitt trained to be a nurse as a young woman and despite her poor attendance record, an incident where she was suspected of smearing excrement on a wall, and often failing her nursing exams, she somehow managed to secure a position at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital in Lincolnshire in 1991. Allitt's first victim was seven-week-old Liam Taylor. She was caring for Liam when he began suffering from breathing problems. He eventually ended up on life support with brain damage and his parents had to give their consent to turn the machine off. The alarm monitors had not sounded when Liam stopped breathing but although this was (in hindsight) suspicious at the time no foul play was suspected. Two weeks later 11-year-old Timothy Hardwick died in Allitt's care when his heart stopped. Timothy suffered from cerebral palsy and his death was felt to have been a consequence of his epilepsy. The next victim was one-year-old Kayley Desmond. Kayley was making good progress after being admitted to the hospital with a chest infection but she went into cardiac arrest while Allitt was looking after her. The staff noticed a puncture mark near Kaley's armpit indicative of an injection but - once again - no foul play was suspected. Allitt continued to prey on children in the hospital. Five year-old Paul Crampton suffered from insulin shock while in the care of Allitt. He was sent to another hospital and thankfully managed to survive. Amazingly, Allitt was the nurse who looked after him during the journey. She still wasn't suspected of anything. A day later five-year-old Bradley Gibson went into cardiac arrest at the hospital but was saved. On two occasions he was found to have dangerously high levels on insulin and his main nurse was (of course) Beverley Allitt. That same day two-year-old Yik Hung Chan nearly died in the hospital after his oxygen levels dropped alarmingly. On the 1st of April, two-month-old Becky Phillips died in the hospital from convulsions. Becky had only been admitted for a stomach virus. Her sister was admitted for tests but stopped breathing while at the hospital. By now the authorities should have deduced that foul play was involved in all these strange and tragic incidents. About three weeks later 15 month old Claire Peck was treated at the hospital for asthma and suffered a cardiac arrest while on a ventilator. Clare was brought into a stable condition but tragically died of another cardiac arrest shortly after. The nurse looking after her was Beverley Allitt. Traces of Lignocaine were found in Clare's system after tests. This is a drug for heart problems but it is never prescribed for children. This naturally raised all manner of alarm bells in the hospital. The investigation deduced that a common denominator in the incidents was that the children had dangerously high levels of insulin. It was no coincidence that Allitt had reported the key to the insulin cabinet was missing. There were also missing nursing logs - which was obviously suspicious. The other common denominator in this case was Beverley Alitt. The hospital soon realised that she had been looking after all the children who died or nearly died. Allitt had attacked thirteen children over a 59 day period and killed four of them. She was sentenced to 13 concurrent terms of life imprisonment in 1993 and sent to Rampton Secure Hospital. Allitt was deemed to be suffering from Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy. There is certainly some plausible evidence for the theory that Lucy Letby suffered from this too. Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a rare disorder but one that has cropped up before in tragic cases where a killer operated in the medical world. Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP), also known as factitious disorder imposed on another, is a psychological disorder in which a caregiver, typically a parent or guardian, intentionally causes or fabricates illness or injury in a dependent, often a child. The caregiver may exaggerate symptoms, tamper with medical tests, or even induce harm to the child in order to gain attention, sympathy, or admiration from healthcare professionals. The motivations behind Munchausen syndrome by proxy can vary, but they often include a need for attention, control, power, or a desire to assume the role of a loving and caring caregiver. The disorder is obviously considered to be a form of child abuse since the child's medical care and well-being are deliberately compromised. At its most extreme this condition can drive people to murder.Lucy Letby alerted a doctor when Baby A began to change colour and worsen. Resuscitation failed the baby was pronounced dead at 8:58pm. The tragic death of the baby aroused no suspicion. In fact, Letby was praised by colleagues for her conduct (these colleagues obviously had no idea that it was Letby who might be responsible for the death). In response to one text from a nurse, Letby replied - "It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Just a big shock for us all. Hard coming in tonight and seeing the parents." Far from being distraught and in shock or wracked with guilt and regret, Letby actually seemed excited by all the attention she received. It was addictive to her. There are many cases where medical killers have become addicted to the power over life and death they wield in a hospital or care facility. They develop a 'God complex' and engineer medical emergencies so that they can play the hero. Psychopaths tend to have an inflated sense of self-worth and may have an exaggerated view of their abilities and achievements. Lucy Letby displayed some of that during the time frame of the awful crimes. There certainly appears to have been some disturbing Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy element with Letby too. Letby enjoyed the sympathy she got for being on duty when a child had died. Professionals in the health care services do heroic or difficult things all the time. They also witness sad and tragic things. They don't do this for attention or to feel like they are some great special person. They do it because that's their job and they are decent kind people who care about their patients. Lucy Letby, by contrast, did not care about her patients. They were simply a means to an end and the 'end' in this case was some extra attention and sympathy from colleagues. Around twenty-eight hours after the death of the first baby, Lucy Letby, monstrously and unconscionably, apparently tried to murder the twin sister of the dead child. Baby B was, it is believed, injected with air by Letby and had her airwaves blocked. As with the first victim, the baby began to change colour and go into a critical condition. An on-call registrar rushed to the scene and, thankfully, the baby was resuscitated. Although it was Lucy Letby who was the designated nurse for both of these incidents at this very early stage she had yet to attract any undue suspicion. In fact, a few days later Letby actually requested to be assigned more shifts. Letby continued to discuss the death of Baby A in text messages to colleagues. In hindsight it is plain to see that Letby was enjoying all the drama and attention from this tragedy. Letby said to a colleague that from a 'confidence' point of view she needed to 'take' another ITU baby soon. She obviously meant that she needed a baby to look after to mitigate what had happened but the use of the word 'take' has a rather sinister hue in retrospect. It is certainly evident that Lucy Letby was a disturbed young woman. Normal people don't murder babies. Normal people would be incapable of murdering an adult let alone a baby. There was something seriously wrong with Letby but she was able to hide this dark and troubled side of herself from friends, relatives, and colleagues. The ability of serial killers to appear normal to those around them has been described as the 'mask of sanity'. The term "mask of sanity" was coined by psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley in his 1941 book, "The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So-Called Psychopathic Personality." In the book, Cleckley explores the concept of psychopathy and describes how individuals with this disorder often present themselves to others as seemingly well-adjusted and normal, while internally lacking empathy, remorse, or a sense of moral responsibility. He refers to this outward display of normalcy as the "mask of sanity."The mask of sanity allows psychopathic individuals to easily blend into society and manipulate others, appearing charming, charismatic, and often highly successful. They are skilled at mimicking normal emotional responses and social behaviours, making it difficult for others to detect their true nature. If you knew Lucy Letby in real life you would get no sense of any danger from her at all. In most of her photographs she is smiling or goofing around. She was described as 'carefree' and fun by her friends. Letby was also able to play the role of an empathetic and caring nurse at work - though the reality was of course tragically different.On the 14th of June, 2015, Letby claimed a third victim. Baby C was a male baby born ten weeks premature. The baby was making good progress though and doctors judged the child to be getting better and growing stronger. Letby was not the designated nurse of this baby but was was working on the shift. When the designated nurse of Baby C was doing something else, Letby, according to prosecution experts, injected air into the baby's stomach - which sadly caused its death. When the monitor alarm for Baby C sounded, Lucy Letby was found standing over the child. However, Letby has still yet to arouse any alarm or suspicion. It would take some time for an investigation to deduce that Letby was the common factor in the three incidents which had occurred with babies in such a short space of time (and tragically there would be more incidents to come).Only hours after the death of Baby C it was later established that Lucy Letby had done online searches through Facebook to find out more about the child's family. Letby was also once again fishing for sympathy from colleagues through texts. 'It's all a bit much,' wrote Letby - which got the desired result with a return message of sympathy. 'It's hearbreaking but it's not about me,' replied Letby. 'We learn to deal with it.' Letby's assertion that 'it's not about me' was patently hollow and insincere. In reality it was ALL about Letby. She displayed classic symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a psychological disorder characterised by a pattern of grandiosity, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. People with NPD have an exaggerated sense of self-importance and often believe they are special and unique. They constantly seek attention and praise from others and have a strong sense of entitlement. They may have a lack of empathy and have difficulty understanding the needs and feelings of others. They often exploit and manipulate others to fulfil their own desires and are prone to fits of anger or rage when their needs are not met. Although it obviously doesn't explain Letby's awful crimes and her parents (as with the parents of any serial killer you might care to mention) are not to blame, the fact that Lucy Letby was an only child who was spoiled by her parents and very close to them would perhaps provide for a partial explanation for why she had this psychological craving for constant attention. The reason why Letby was killing babies was an altogether more complex and unfathomable conundrum. On the 21st of June, Lucy Letby took another life. Baby D was born with a suspected infection but not considered to be in any danger. The child was 36 hours old when Letby injected air into her bloodstream. The baby collapsed three times and required emergency medical attention by doctors. As with the previous incidents a discolouration on the baby's skin was apparent. The baby tragically died after the third collapse. Once again Lucy Letby went on Facebook shortly after to research the child's family. Letby also solicited sympathy from colleagues through text messages (in addition to the sympathy she solicited in an actual sense in the hospital). In the text messages after the death of Baby D, Letby ponders whether the death was 'fate' and wonders if these things happen for a reason. Letby claims that she has been constantly crying - though clearly she hadn't. Guilt, remorse, sorrow, empathy. These would be alien emotions to someone capable of doing what Lucy Letby did.Several days later there were text messages between Letby and another nurse in which the nurse noted there was something 'odd' about the fact that these babies had all died in such a short space of time. Lucy Letby was quick to deflect this observation, replying - 'Well Baby C was tiny, obviously compromised in utero. Baby D septic. It's Baby A I can't get my head around.' There had now been three deaths in a fortnight. This equalled the total number of deaths in the neonatal unit for the entirety of 2014. This was plainly a situation which merited an investigation and one was instigated. This was the first sign that the hospital authorities were becoming if not suspicious (as in thinking that foul play might be involved) but concerned that something was wrong and someone might not be doing their job correctly. The same month as the latest tragedy, Dr Stephen Brearey, the head consultant on the neonatal unit, carried out a review. One inescapable fact quickly established by the review was that Lucy Letby was the only nurse on shift for each of these deaths. The findings of the review were passed to the trust's committee. However, the committee decided that the deaths were most likely the result of medication mistakes or natural causes. As a consequence of this a full investigation was blocked and Lucy Letby remained on the neonatal unit. This was plainly a huge mistake in hindsight. Letby not only continued to work on the unit but was also still receiving sympathy and support. After the deaths Letby had been offered counselling but declined to take up this service. On the 4th of August there was another tragic death at the hospital when Baby E, an identical twin boy who had been born premature, began screaming and showed sign of blood coming from his mouth. The baby's mother walked in on Letby standing over the child but presumed (as one would) that the nurse was lending assistance. Letby told the mother that the blood was nothing to worry about and due to a stomach tube. In her medical notes though Letby made no mention of this blood. A doctor later noticed the blood and the soon ailing child was given CPR. It is believed that the child's death was a result of an air embolism and trauma caused by the interference of the nasogastric tube. A nasogastric tube is a flexible tube that is inserted through the nose and down into the stomach. This medical device is used to remove fluids or air from the stomach, or to deliver medications and nutrients.The following day, the twin brother of Baby E crashed and had to be given emergency treatment when synthetic insulin was used on him. Mercifully, this baby was saved by doctors. It is believed that Letby took the insulin from the medical cabinet and injected it into the IV bag. No other child in the unit had been prescribed insulin (Baby G had been prescribed a tiny amount) so this was clearly not a mix up of medications. This was the first time that Letby had used insulin to try and kill a child. Letby later went a dancing class. As was her custom by now, she continued to research her victim's families on Facebook and solicit sympathy from colleagues.'I said goodbye to Baby F's parents as Baby F might go tomorrow,' texted Letby. 'They both cried & hugged me saying they will never be able to thank me for the love & care I gave to Baby F & for the precious memories I've given them. It's heartbreaking.' Lucy Letby lived in a bizarre delusional world. She tried to portray herself as some great hero when the complete opposite was true. By now though one didn't need to be Dr Gregory House to see a pattern in these tragic and awful incidents at the hospital. There was one common factor in all of these incidents. That common factor was a nurse named Lucy Letby. On the 7th of September, Letby attempted to murder Baby G. Baby G was a girl born prematurely. Letby attempted to murder the child by overfeeding her but was not successful. On the 21st of September, Letby made another attempt to murder Baby G. This involved overfeeding and injecting air into the baby. At one point the baby stopped breathing but a doctor managed to stabalise the condition of the baby. However, the baby was left disabled as a result of all of this trauma. Letby would be found guilty on two charges of attempted murder of Baby G but not guilty on a third. As we shall see in the trial later, this was an incredibly complex case. Once again, it was later established that Letby did Facebook searches on the baby's family after the incidents. Once again too, Letby was in text communication with other nurses and as usual painting herself as some dutiful, caring nurse who just seemed to be suffering from a lot of bad luck lately when it came to incidents on her shifts. What is detectable from the texts in relation to this timeframe is that Letby is now becoming somewhat defensive. It is clear that gossip in the hospital is portraying Letby as incompetent - or even worse. On the 30th of September, Letby attempted to murder another baby at the unit. This was Baby I. Letby injected air into the baby’s stomach through a nasogastric tube. Letby made two more attempts to kill the baby in similar fashion. Tragically, Letby killed the baby on the 23rd of October by injecting air into the child. Letby sent a sympathy card to the grieving parents of the child. By now Letby was again asking for extra shifts at the hospital. Letby was also though beginning to attract suspicion. You might reasonably suggest that it was about time. It was remarkable that Lucy Letby had got this far. The fact that she was the common link between all of these deaths and incidents would appear to have been apparent by now. Letby was later accused of attempting to kill Baby H twice on September 26 and 27. This child recovered. Letby was found not guilty of attempted murder on three counts in the specific case of Baby H because there were other circumstances. The baby was intubated for ventilation after an 'unacceptable' delay and also had a needle incorrectly removed. It was decided that there were too many other factors to definitively say that the baby had been deliberately harmed (though the prosecution obviously begged to differ in court). Baby I died on October 23, 2015. Letby is believed to have made more than one attempt to kill this infant. The baby was fine until it arrived at the Countess of Chester. The cause of death was air embolism. Letby was there when the last attempt to resuscitate the child was made. CHAPTER TWOBy now the unit's lead consultant Dr Stephen Brearey was beginning to have grave suspicions concerning Lucy Letby. At first he had refused to believe it could be possible because 'Lucy was so nice' and the last person you'd suspect of this. The baby deaths in the hospital though were now well above the national average. There was clearly something seriously wrong at the baby unit. The possibility that the hospital might have a Beverly Allitt on their hands was clearly something that they refused to even consider. Dr Stephen Brearey, despite his initial reluctance to accuse Letby of anything, now feared that it was Letby who was harming these babies - whether by incompetence or design. In October he passed these suspicions onto the unit manager and director of nursing but neither seemed interested in investigating these claims or even showed much interest in them at all. An independent expert, Dr Nimish Subhedar, was asked to carry out a review of the infant deaths. The review noted that the babies had seemed fine then rapidly deteriorated. This was highly unusual. The review also noted that the incidents happened on night shifts - where Lucy Letby happened to be present. In November there was another death at the hospital. Baby J was a female baby who had bowel surgery. The baby's sudden death was later linked to Letby. At the trial it was suggested at one point that Letby may have smothered Baby J but the jury could not reach a verdict on this specific charge. Another consultant, Dr Ravi Jayaram, also alerted the management over his concerns over Letby at this time but he was basicallty told to keep quiet and not make a fuss. Jayaram had good reason to be suspicious of Letby because he was there when Baby K died in February. Baby K was a female baby born premature. Letby wasn't the designated nurse but Dr Jayaram found her standing over the baby's incubator. What struck Jayaram as odd is that the baby's oxygen levels had fallen but Letby had not called for assistance. The baby's breathing tube was dislodged and the alarm had been paused. The baby, tragically, died three days later. Letby was not convicted of this death at the trial (the jury could reach no verdict) - though her presence that day was highly suspicious to say the least. By now there was ample evidence that something was seriously wrong at the hospital but no one wanted to hear the evidence because the evidence seemed to lead to the worst possible explanation. There were a range of possible explanations for why the baby mortality rate had substantially increased at the hospital. The possible explanations included medical incompetence, some sort of bug or infection in the hospital, or simply even bad luck. There was of course another explanation but it was apparently too awful for anyone to contemplate. That explanation was the 'nice' young nurse named Lucy Letby who always seemed to be on shift when these tragedies occurred. In cases involving medical killers, or even alleged medical killers, there is obviously an awful lot of investigating to do. Because of the nature of hospitals and the medical world it is clearly more complex to prove a patient was deliberately murdered than it is, for example, to prove that a more conventional murder (which didn't occur in a hospital) was a result of foul play. If someone dies as a result of strangulation or knife wounds in an alley, well that's obviously murder. But someone dying in a hospital presents a much more complex mystery. It could be that they were simply ill, it could have been a medical mistake, and - in rare cases - it could be foul play. There are actually still complex cases involving famous convicted medical killers where not everyone is convinced they were even guilty. One such case is that of Colin Norris.Colin Norris was born in Glasgow in 1976. Norris worked in a travel agency when he left school but he decided he wanted to do something different in the end so he trained to be a nurse. He studied for a Higher Nursing Diploma at Dundee University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery and then worked at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Dundee on a placement scheme. Norris also spent some time working in a nursing home. The experiences of Colin Norris in the hospital and nursing home were not to his liking because he was working with geriatric patients. Norris, it seems, didn't like caring for old people very much. He especially disliked having to bathe elderly female patients. Norris was gay and it has been speculated that it made him uncomfortable having to wash female patients but it seems unlikely that his sexuality had anything to do with it. It was more the case that Norris wanted to work in a more general (and 'exciting' - as he put it himself) medical environment rather than simply look after old people. While Norris is alleged to have had a distaste for elderly patients there is no evidence that he harmed any of them in his student nurse years. Much is made in this case of the fact that while he was training to be a nurse, Norris was taught about the story of Jessie McTavish. Jessie McTavish was a Glasgow nurse who was convicted in 1974 of murdering a patient with insulin. McTavish had learned that insulin was soluble and thus a potential homicide agent through which one might plausibly get away with the crime (she was obviously wrong about the second part of this deduction). The case of Jessie McTavish is said to have stuck with Colin Norris and inspired his own alleged medical crimes. Added to this was the fact that as part of his training he was taught how to care for patients with diabetes. After his training was completed in Dundee, Norris got a job as a staff nurse at Leeds General Infirmary in Yorkshire. Norris would also work at St James's University Hospital in the city too. It was here in Leeds that his crimes took place. Norris is alleged to have been frustrated and unhappy at having to care for some elderly patients on his ward in Leeds. It is said that he tried to kill 90 year old Vera Wilby by way of insulin overdose in 2002 but she actually survived this murder attempt. In June of that same year, Norris was later found in court to have killed Bridget Bourke, 88, and then in October he murdered Irene Crookes, 79. These women were judged to have been killed by insulin overdose - despite the fact that they were not diabetic. At the time of the deaths no foul play was suspected by the hospital - although Colin Norris was starting to get noticed by the staff. One colleague would later say that Norris seemed quite amused when a patient died - which was certainly what you could describe as odd and unprofessional behaviour for a nurse. Norris was also said to be bad tempered with the elderly patients on his ward and not exactly a barrel of laughs in his treatment of these ailing old folk. At his later trial there were many accounts by colleagues and patients about Norris being angry and verbally abusive with elderly patients on the wards. Norris was also later accused of murdering 86-year-old Ethel Hall on his ward. The trouble began for Colin Norris when Ethel Hall was found unconscious. Dr Emma Ward found that Hall, who was being treated for a broken hip, had been given 1,000 units of insulin. A diabetic is usually given 50 units (not that Mrs Hall was even a diabetic anyway). This was all highly suspicious and alarming and so an investigation was launched by the police. The police found that 18 deaths at the hospital were - retrospectively - deemed to be suspicious and that a common denominator in these deaths is that they often seemed to occur during the shifts of Colin Norris. Another salient detail was that these incidents seemed to occur at weekends or very early in the morning. In other words they took place at a time when specialist staff would be less likely to be there. Was that a coincidence or did it indicate something more sinister? The police case against Norris judged that he was the only person who worked those specific shifts (where the incidents took place) and who had access to those patients and insulin. He was also the only nurse who worked on the two wards where the deaths took place. Much was made too of the fact that Norris had once predicted when a patient would die and been proved completely accurate in this prediction. Norris would claim this was simply some dark humour which was blown out of all proportion. What didn't help Norris though was that he confessed to this 'prediction' in a police interview but then denied it in court. That was obviously a contradiction. During the police investigation into Norris he was suspended from work on full pay. He even went abroad a few times during this period and enjoyed some holidays. Those who were close to Norris said he was scared though at the thought that he might end up in prison. The police conducted a number of interviews with Norris and one particular detail struck them as a big red flag. Norris claimed that the insulin which was taken from the fridge in the hospital without permission and then used on the patients must have been stolen by an intruder while the nurses were busy or taking a break. Presumably then this alleged intruder, according to Colin Norris, must have injected the patients too. This all struck the police as pure fiction. It was rather implausible to think that someone would sneak into a hospital somehow unobserved and then - for reasons best known to themselves - attempt to kill elderly patients with overdoses of insulin. Added to this was the fact that the insulin fridge was locked with a key code which was only known to the medical staff. The police believed that Colin Norris was simply making this up. They didn't believe he was telling the truth in his interviews. The police also found Colin Norris to be something of a cold fish in that he showed no sorrow whatsoever for the deaths of these old people on the wards. Norris told the police he couldn't even remember these patients. Norris was combative and arrogant in his dealings with the police. He treated them with disdain and said they had no case against him. Norris became quite obstreperous at times during his trial at Newcastle. Those who believe he is innocent might argue that this was perfectly natural in the circumstances. If you were charged with awful crimes you didn't commit then anger and frustration would be understandable. Norris was found guilty of four murders on an 11-1 majority verdict. One member of the jury was clearly not convinced that Norris was a killer. Norris got life with a minimum of 30 years. Usually with medical killers they are found to be highly disturbed individuals with dark pasts who become addicted to the power they wield as medical professions. They like to play God with the lives of their patients. A number of other medical killers in history did their crimes for financial reasons in that they wanted to get their grubby mitts on the money and valuables of their patients. Colin Norris didn't really fit these patterns though. He was a reasonably normal sort of person whose main motive seemed to be that these elderly patients got on his nerves. Colin Norris was called 'evil' by the police and judge. He was (inevitably) compared to Harold Shipman in the media. In the years since the conviction of Colin Norris though there has been a concerted campaign to overturn his conviction. Some scientific experts believe his conviction was unsafe and that the evidence against him was circumstantial. Those that convicted Norris though remain convinced that he was a ruthless medical killer. In 2021 his case was referred to the court of appeals. It remains to be seen if Norris will ever prove his innocence or whether he was guilty all along. Colin Norris and his family still believe that one day he will be free again and his convictions will be quashed. At the start of February 2016, Dr Stephen Brearey sent a review of the deaths in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital to the medical director Ian Harvey. Brearey was now explicitly pointing out that Lucy Letby was on shift during all of these deaths. If foul play was the explanation for the spike in deaths then the culprit could only have been Lucy Letby. Brearey wanted a meeting with executives to discuss Letby but no one wanted to meet with him. The general line of the hospital at this point was that the deaths were most likely a result of staffing problems and not having enough senior staff on call. This explanation was of course hopelessly wide of the mark. The real explanation for the tragedies was beyond comprehension and too awful for words.On the 9th of April, Letby attempted to kill twin boys in the unit. Baby L was given a secret dose of insulin by Letby. The insulin was injected into the baby's drip feed. it was alleged that Letby volunteered for an extra shift for the express purpose of carrying out this murder - which thankfully was not successful. Letby would later say that the insulin must have already been in one of the bags but this was not deemed to be a credible defence. Baby M, the other twin, came close to death after being injected with air. the baby survived but suffered brain damage. Lucy Letby made diary entries after these incidents but her mood, given the circumstances, was what you might describe as surprisingly carefree. In the aftermath of these worrying emergencies at the unit, Letby was more concerned about a house-warming party she was arranging and celebrating winning £135 on the Grand National. Dr Stephen Brearey met with colleagues in May to raise his concerns about Lucy Letby. There was however an 'assurance' document doing the rounds of the hospital which stated - 'There is no evidence whatsoever against LL [Letby] other than coincidence.' Brearey was, as you might imagine, becoming rather frustrated by this point. He felt as if no one was listening to him. It was as if the hospital bigwigs had their heads buried in the sand. In June, it was later alleged that Lucy Letby attempted to kill Baby N. Baby N was a male baby born premature. The baby had haemophilia - though it was apparently a mild form of the condition. Haemophilia is a rare genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to form blood clots, leading to excessive bleeding. Letby is alleged to have thought that the baby's condition would make it less likely that any foul play would be detected. Letby allegedly made three attempts to kill Baby N by adjusting his breathing tube but the baby thankfully survived and was transferred to a special medical unit in Liverpool. The jury could reach no verdict of whether Letby attempted to kill Baby N.