A British neonatal nurse brutally murdered seven babies and attempted to kill six others under her care. Now, she will never hurt another child again.
Recently, Manchester Crown Court Judge Justice Gross handed Lucy Letby, 33, a life term in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of seven babies in her care at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Northern England. After 22 days of deliberation, Letby was found guilty and convicted by a jury of murder and the attempted murder of six other babies.
“There was a deep malevolence bordering on sadism in your actions. During the course of this trial you have coldly denied any responsibility for your wrongdoing and sought to attribute some fault to others. You have shown no remorse. There are no mitigating factors,” said Gross to Letby who was absent at her sentencing hearing, according to The Guardian.
Between June 2015 and June 2016, authorities at the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England discovered an increase in baby casualties and were alarmed. Later, investigators found the defendant had been on duty during each fatal incident. It was further established that Letby had killed the babies by injecting air into their intravenous lines, over-feeding some, and poisoning others with insulin. The identity of the babies was kept unanimous and only identified by alphabetical letters.
During the sentencing hearing, the parents of twins Baby E, who died, and Baby F, who was rendered with a learning deficiency due to the insulin attack by Letby, expressed anger and regret for leaving their children with the defendant. The mother who conceived the children through in vitro fertilization (IVF) described how Letby chose the woolen gown in which Baby F was buried.
Upon her arrest and searching her home, investigators found a confessional note written by the defendant stating she killed the children, was an evil person, and was not in a position to care for the children. In addition, authorities found online searches about the parents of the deceased babies on Letby’s computers.
Though the motive behind the killing remains unclear, Prosecutor Nicholas Johnson KC remained adamant the defendant was playing God and excited seeing doctors rushing to save the babies she had attacked.
“Little did we know you were waiting for us to leave so you could attack the one thing that gave us a reason to carry on in life,” said another mother who lost one of her twins while the other survived a second attack by Letby, reported AP News.
Letby’s option not to appear in court to face the victim’s family caused an uproar among family members. As a result, policymakers and victim advocates have called for changes in the law to force criminals to appear for sentencing.
The defendant is the third woman sentenced to the harshest punishment allowed since the UK abolished the death penalty.
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