Lucy Letby, a nurse, was convicted on Friday of murdering seven newborns and attempting to murder six others, making her one of the UK's deadliest medical serial killers. Her youngest victim had only been born a day before. She faces the prospect of serving a life sentence at the hearing scheduled to take place on Monday.
Between June 2015 and June 2016, Letby targeted newborns while working in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital. She was found guilty of intentionally harming the infants, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in a variety of methods, including intravenous air injections and nasogastric tube administration of air and/or milk into the stomach.
Letby rejected all of the charges during her 14-day testimony in the witness box at Manchester Crown Court, which began last October. Investigators have said that Letby was a constant and malevolent presence at the time the babies were killed, adding that she was the only common link between the babies’ deaths.
Details have also emerged on the life Letby led while harming the newborn babies at her workplace. It is being said she led quite an “active” life during the period of the killings. Letby said she went to the gym and took salsa classes most weeks, but her life seemed to center mostly around her work. In fact, it has emerged that Letby went salsa dancing with one of her colleagues at the Countess Hospital.
She frequently volunteered for overtime and worked weekends regularly. She was well-liked by some of her coworkers, two of whom she considered best friends. She described it as her "little family."
In her semi-detached home in Chester, England, Lucy Letby lived quietly amidst retired neighbors and families. Having moved in during March 2016, Letby initially worked night shifts, then switched to day shifts.
She adorned her house with wall art, cuddly toys, and notes, including a special message from her cats. A meticulous diary-keeper, she jotted work shifts in blue and social events in pink, marking completed tasks, like laundry delivery. Letby's unassuming life starkly contrasts with the serious charges she faces in the ongoing legal proceedings.
