Lucy Letby, the nurse identified as the UK’s most prolific child serial killer in recent history, has been handed a whole-life sentence.
Convicted of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital, the 33-year-old engaged in calculated acts, including injecting infants with air, forcefully feeding them milk, and using insulin to poison two.
During her sentencing hearing, Letby opted not to be present in the dock.
This sentence guarantees Letby will spend the remainder of her life behind bars, making her just the fourth woman in UK history to receive such a severe penalty.
Reserved for the most heinous crimes, whole-life orders constitute the highest form of punishment.
Mr. Justice Goss characterized Letby’s actions as “truly horrific,” highlighting the “cruelty and calculation” behind them. He noted that her conduct contradicted the innate human instinct to nurture and care for babies, severely violating the trust placed in medical and caregiving professionals by society.
Goss revealed that Letby kept morbid records in the form of handover sheets, connected to all the babies except the initial four, which were discovered at her home.
Ben Myers KC, Letby’s defense representative, noted that the neonatal nurse consistently maintained her innocence, leaving him with no mitigating factors capable of reducing the sentence.
As victim impact statements were read in court, the public gallery, filled with parents of the affected babies, experienced various emotional responses, including silent tears.
Several jury members, who had sat through nine months of evidence, also showed signs of distress upon hearing the statements.
The mother of one of the infants killed by Letby conveyed her horror at the existence of “someone so evil,” as victim impact statements from the families were presented in court.
Speaking to an empty dock, the mother of Baby C, her voice filled with emotion, shared that knowing her son’s murderer was observing them felt akin to a chilling tale from a horror story
