Current:Home > FinanceBritish nurse Lucy Letby, convicted of killing 7 babies, found guilty of another attempted murder-InfoLens
British nurse Lucy Letby, convicted of killing 7 babies, found guilty of another attempted murder
View Date:2024-12-23 11:13:31
Lucy Letby, a British neonatal nurse who is serving a life sentence for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others, was convicted Tuesday of trying to kill another infant in her care.
A jury found that Letby, 34, tried to kill a baby girl, known as Child K, in February 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England. A previous jury had failed to reach a verdict on the case.
Letby, who testified that she never harmed a child, was accused of trying to murder the "very premature" child by dislodging her breathing tube in the early hours of Feb. 17, 2016.
Senior Prosecutor Nicola Wyn Williams alleged that Letby removed the baby's breathing support and a doctor found her standing by doing nothing as the child struggled. Williams said Letby removed the breathing tube two more times over the next few hours, "in an attempt to cover her tracks and suggest that the first dislodgment was accidental."
"These were the actions of a cold-blooded, calculated killer," she said. "Staff at the unit had to think the unthinkable — that one of their own was deliberately harming and killing babies in their care."
Dr. Ravi Jayaram, a pediatrician at the hospital, told jurors he saw "no evidence" that Letby had done anything to help the baby as he walked in and saw her standing next to the newborn's incubator.
Letby told the jury of six women and six men she had no recollection of any such event. She denied she harmed Child K, and testified that she had not committed any of the offenses she had been convicted of.
The parents of the baby gasped and cried as the verdict was read after three and a half hours of deliberations. Letby showed no emotion.
The Manchester Crown Court found Letby guilty of seven murders and six other attempted murders after over three weeks of deliberation in August 2023. All of the deaths took place at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016. During the 2023 trial, Letby was accused of deliberately harming the newborn infants in various ways, including injecting air into their bloodstreams and administering air or milk into their stomachs via nasogastric tubes, as CBS News previously reported.
Letby is already serving a life sentence with no chance of release — the most severe punishment possible under British law, which does not allow the death penalty. Only three other women have received such a harsh sentence in the U.K.
- In:
- Health
- United Kingdom
- Crime
veryGood! (2677)
Related
- Residents urged to shelter in place after apparent explosion at Louisville business
- Why Ana Huang’s Romance Novel The Striker Is BookTok's New Obsession
- Tuna is increasingly popular in the US. But is it good for you?
- Florida power outage map: Track where power is out as Hurricane Milton approaches landfall
- RHOP's Candiace Dillard Bassett Gives Birth, Shares First Photos of Baby Boy
- A plane crashes on Catalina Island off Southern California coast
- Chicago Bears stay focused on city’s lakefront for new stadium, team president says
- Shirtless Chad Michael Murray Delivers Early Holiday Present With The Merry Gentlemen Teaser
- Special counsel Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump’s classified documents case
- Dancing With the Stars’ Brooks Nader Details “Special” First Tattoo With Gleb Savchenko
Ranking
- Lee Zeldin, Trump’s EPA Pick, Brings a Moderate Face to a Radical Game Plan
- Small plane crashes on Catalina Island, 5 people dead
- 'Saturday Night' review: Throwback comedy recaptures fabulous buzz of the first 'SNL'
- Beyoncé Channels Marilyn Monroe in Bombshell Look at Glamour's Women of the Year Ceremony
- Surprise bids revive hope for offshore wind in Gulf of Mexico after feds cancel lease sale
- John Amos' cause of death revealed: 'Roots' actor died of heart failure
- In Florida Senate Race, Two Candidates With Vastly Different Views on the Climate
- Chicago Bears stay focused on city’s lakefront for new stadium, team president says
Recommendation
-
Pistons' Ausar Thompson cleared to play after missing 8 months with blood clot
-
Their mom survived the hurricane, but the aftermath took her life
-
Sean 'Diddy' Combs appeals to get out of jail ahead of federal sex crimes trial
-
Severe solar storm could stress power grids even more as US deals with major back-to-back hurricanes
-
The White Stripes drop lawsuit against Donald Trump over 'Seven Nation Army' use
-
How Waffle House helps Southerners — and FEMA — judge a storm’s severity
-
AI Ω: Reshaping the Transportation Industry, The Future of Smart Mobility
-
Pilot of larger plane was looking away from smaller plane in Atlanta airport mishap, report says