Nurse Lucy Letby found guilty of seven baby murders

SERIAL killer Lucy Letby has been found guilty of murdering and poisoning babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

More than 10 months after the former neonatal unit nurse’s trial first began at Manchester Crown Court in October 2022, the jury found her guilty of seven counts of murdering babies, and seven counts of attempted murder on six more babies, after 110 hours and 26 minutes of deliberation.

This means Letby is the most highly convicted child serial killer in UK legal history.

All of Letby’s offences happened at the neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.

It can now be revealed that some verdicts were delivered on Tuesday, August 8, Friday, August 11, Wednesday, August 16 and Thursday, August 17, but reporting restrictions were imposed to prevent publication of those until the jury had finished all their deliberations.

On August 8, just after 2pm, Letby was unanimously found by the jury to have poisoned Child F and Child L with insulin. Letby – as had been the case for much of the trial – remained emotionless as those verdicts were delivered, and began crying after the jury left to continue deliberating.

On August 11, just after 1pm, Letby remained emotionless as the jury unanimously found her guilty of murdering Child O, and by a 10 to one majority, of murdering Child C, Child I and Child P. The jury also found her guilty by a 10 to one majority of attempting to murder Child M and Child N. 

Parents of the children wiped away tears as those verdicts were read out. After the jury and Letby left court, Letby’s mother Susan Letby could be heard sobbing uncontrollably.

On August 16, just after 2pm, Letby did not attend the courtroom as further verdicts were read out. She was found guilty, by a majority of 10-1, of murdering Child A, Child D and Child E, and of attempting to murder Child B. She was also found guilty on two counts of attempting to murder Child G. Letby was found not guilty on a third count of attempting to murder Child G.

Parents in the public gallery wept, sobbed and consoled each other as those verdicts were read out.

On August 17, just after 12.45pm, Letby again did not attend as the jury found her not guilty on one count of attempting to murder Child H.

Reporting restrictions preventing the naming of any of the babies in the indictment remain in place.

The 33-year-old, first arrested in Chester in July 2018 and originally from Hereford, will be sentenced on Monday, August 21.

Letby made her last appearance in Manchester Crown Court on the morning of Wednesday, August 16, when the jury began its 20th day of deliberations.

Trial judge Mr Justice James Goss informed the court, the following day, that he had received a note to say Letby would not be returning to court, and was not intending to attend the sentencing hearing, and was “not prepared” to appear via videolink.

The judge said he was aware there had been recent sentencings where the defendant had refused to appear, and said the court “has no power” to force her to attend.

He added that for the sentencing hearing, for which his remarks will be televised, his comments would address Letby as if she was present.

On Friday, August 18, the jury announced it could go no further with its deliberations, and the 11 jurors were discharged. No verdicts were entered on six counts of attempted murder.

The judge thanked them for their “care” and “diligence”, and acknolwedged that the case had been the “most distressing and upsetting”, and support would be offered to jurors who felt they needed it.

He formally ordered that all jurors could be excused from jury service for the rest of their life.

The 22 charges and the jury’s decision:

• Count 1 – murder of Child A, a baby boy, on June 8, 2015: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 2 – attempted murder of Child B (twin of Child A), a baby girl, between June 8-11, 2015: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 3 – murder of Child C, a baby boy, on June 14, 2015: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 4 – murder of Child D, a baby girl, on June 22, 2015: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 5 – murder of Child E, a baby boy, on August 4, 2015: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 6 – attempted murder of Child F (twin of Child E), a baby boy, on August 5, 2015: GUILTY UNANIMOUSLY
• Count 7 – attempted murder of Child G, a baby girl, on September 7, 2015: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 8 – attempted murder of Child G on September 21, 2015 at about 10.15am: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 9 – attempted murder of Child G on September 21, 2015 at about 3.30pm: NOT GUILTY
• Count 10 – attempted murder of Child H, a baby girl, on September 26, 2015: NOT GUILTY
• Count 11 – attempted murder of Child H on September 27, 2015: NO VERDICT
• Count 12 – murder of Child I, a baby girl, on October 23, 2015: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 13 – attempted murder of Child J, a baby girl, on November 27, 2015: NO VERDICT
• Count 14 – attempted murder of Child K, a baby girl, on February 17, 2016: NO VERDICT
• Count 15 – attempted murder of Child L, a baby boy, on April 9, 2016: GUILTY UNANIMOUSLY
• Count 16 – attempted murder of Child M (twin of Child L), a baby boy, on April 9, 2016: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 17 – attempted murder of Child N, a baby boy, on June 3, 2016: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 18 – attempted murder of Child N on June 15, 2016, at about 7.15am-7.30am: NO VERDICT
• Count 19 – attempted murder of Child N on June 15, 2016, at about 3pm: NO VERDICT
• Count 20 – murder of Child O, a baby boy, on June 23, 2016: GUILTY UNANIMOUSLY
• Count 21 – murder of Child P (triplet brother of Child O), a baby boy, on June 24, 2016: GUILTY 10-1 MAJORITY
• Count 22 – attempted murder of Child Q, a baby boy, on June 25, 2016: NO VERDICT