UPDATE: Nurse accused of killing babies faces questions in court

Updated: Wednesday, May 17, at 10:43 pm

Lucy Letby, the Nurse accused of killing seven babies and attempting to kill 10 more, was today, May 17, accused in court of only crying for herself. She says her tears are also for the babies that died. She denies all charges against her. 

The prosecution has today begun their questioning of the 33-year-old Letby, led by Nick Johnson KC. He asked the pointed question, as reported by the BBC, if there were: “any reason that you cry when you talk about yourself but you don’t cry when talking about these dead and seriously injured children?”

Letby was also accused by the barrister of insinuating that consultant Dr Ravi Jayaram had misled the jury when he accused Ms Letby of doing nothing as a baby’s oxygen levels plummeted. She said that she didn’t recall speaking to Dr Jayaram and that she was feeding another baby at the time.

She was also accused of having some medical notes of some of the dead babies at her home address, to which she responded that they were not taken intentionally.

We aim to keep you abreast of any development as they unfold.

Tuesday, May 2, at 4:31 pm

Lucy Letby, a nurse who stands accused of killing seven babies, has given evidence in Manchester for the first time.

Today, May 2, at Manchester Crown Court, Lucy Letby, the nurse accused of killing 7 babies and the attempted murder of 10 more has given evidence for the first time.

Letby, 33 as quoted in The Mirror, said that her: “whole world just stopped,” when she was accused of the heinous crimes back in 2016.

She will attempt to prove her innocence of these crimes, alleged to be committed at the Countess of Chester Hospital, and will have to explain some quite alarming evidence.

In reponse to a Post-it note, in which she wrote: “I am evil. I did this,” she claimed that she meant that she felt responsibility for the deaths or belived herself to be incompetent. She added that: “this was a way of me expressing what I wasn’t able to say to anyone else.”

She went on to describe the personal trauma of initially being told she was suspected of the crimes in 2016, being arrested on two occasions and not being allowed to return home.

The BBC reported the breaking news of her court appearance on Twitter:

“Lucy Letby, UK nurse accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill 10 others, giving evidence for first time”.

Lucy Letby, UK nurse accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill 10 others, giving evidence for first time https://t.co/co4SnzeMrX

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) May 2, 2023

Lucy Letby, describing the trauma of her ordeal, is quoted in The Guardian as saying: “I just changed as a person. My mental health deteriorated. I felt very isolated from my friends and family on the unit.”

The ex-nurse added: “I think it’s completely changed everything about me, about my life, about the hopes I had for the future. Everything is just gone.”

These are the early stages of the trial as yet. So far she has described her responsibilities on the ward as well as her life outside work at the time and a close relationship with a doctor.

She was also asked why she had made Facebook searches of the parents of some of the deceased babies, to which she responded that it was out of curiosity and that they were on her mind.

We hope to bring you more details as the case continues.