Families of Lucy Letby’s victims say verdict ‘will not take away extreme hurt, anger and distress’
18 August 2023, 15:05 | Updated: 18 August 2023, 20:43
Nurse branded the ‘Angel of Death’ found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more
The families of Lucy Letby's victims have said they are "heartbroken, devastated, angry and feel numb" after today's verdict and that it is a "bittersweet result".
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
In a joint statement released by the families of Lucy Letby's victims on Friday, they said justice "has been served" but it will not take away their "extreme hurt, anger and distress".
"Over the past seven/eight years we have had to go through a long, torturous and emotional journey," the statement said.
"From losing our precious new-borns and grieving their loss, seeing our children who survived – some of whom are still suffering today, to being told years later that their death or collapse might be suspicious. Nothing can prepare you for that news.
"Today, justice has been served and a nurse who should have been caring for our babies has been found guilty of harming them. But this justice will not take away the extreme hurt, anger and distress that we have all had to experience.
"Some families did not receive the verdict that they expected and therefore it is a bittersweet result.
"We are heartbroken, devastated, angry and feel numb. We may never truly know why this happened."
Read full statement below
It comes after it emerged today that police are investigating further suspicious incidents at hospitals where Lucy Letby worked from 2012 to 2016.
Cheshire Police are reviewing thousands of medical files from two hospitals - Countess of Chester and also at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where the killer nurse completed a work placement.
Letby was found guilty today of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others - making her the most prolific child killer in modern British history. Investigators believe there could be even more victims.
Parents of babies whose cases police are examining have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. Some parents have come forward independently already and others have been contacted directly by detectives.
The new investigation will be focused mainly on Liverpool Women's Hospital, where Letby attended a six-month training course.
More families have been told their children may have been among Letby's victims.
Police say they have gone through more than half a million medical and digital records during their investigation and Cheshire Police have confirmed they are now investigation whether Letby could have attacked more children left in her care before June 2015.
Police have not said how many other active cases there are but added: "There are cases where we've told parents."
Detectives are also likely to review the records of all babies born at the Countess of Chester Hospital during the time she worked there.
The government has ordered an independent inquiry following the guilty verdicts.
It will look at how concerns raised by clinicians were dealt with by the hospital’s senior management.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “I would like to send my deepest sympathy to all the parents and families impacted by this horrendous case.
Read more: Moment Lucy Letby was arrested as killer nurse is found guilty of murdering seven babies
“This inquiry will seek to ensure the parents and families impacted get the answers they need. I am determined their voices are heard, and they are involved in shaping the scope of the inquiry should they wish to do so.
“Following on from the work already underway by NHS England, it will help us identify where and how patient safety standards failed to be met and ensure mothers and their partners rightly have faith in our healthcare system.”
Letby, 33, killed seven babies in her care at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016 by injecting them with air.
She was also found guilty of the attempted murders of six others by poisoning them with insulin or “sabotaging” their feeding tubes. She was found not guilty of two counts of attempted murder of babies named Baby G and Baby H.
One of the babies was 24 hours old when Letby injected him with air, killing him just 90 minutes after she had begun her shift. She tried to kill his twin sister the next day.
While her motive remains unclear, prosecutors suggested she got a 'thrill' out of 'playing God' with the babies' lives.
Inside her messy home, police found a Post-it note on which she had scrawled: "I am evil, I did this."
Letby was not in the dock when the jury was discharged on Friday after finding her guilty. Her parents were also absent from the court, but families of the victims were in the public gallery.
Lucy Letby police interview
Verdicts on 16 of the 22 counts she faced were returned by the jury on earlier days, but could not be reported until now.
The jury could not reach verdicts on six counts of attempted murder.
When the first two guilty verdicts were returned, to two counts of attempted murder, on August 8, Letby fought back tears in the dock and then cried as she left the courtroom.
Lucy Letby arrest footage
She was labelled a "calculated opportunist" who used the vulnerabilities of premature and sick infants to camouflage her acts.
In 2015 and 2016, there was a significant rise in the numbers of babies who suffered serious and unexpected collapses in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Letby was the only member of the nursing and clinical staff who was on duty each time the collapses happened, which the Crown argued were not natural events.
She used various ways to harm the babies including injecting air into the bloodstream, injecting air into the stomach, overfeeding with milk, physical assaults and poisoning with insulin.
Some of the children were subjected to repeated attempts to kill them by the "cold, cruel and relentless" band 5 staff nurse, the trial - which began at Manchester Crown Court last October - heard.
During searches of her address, a number of closely written notes were discovered.
On one green Post-it note she wrote: "I don't deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I'm not good enough to care for them", "I am a horrible evil person" and in capital letters "I am evil I did this".
Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC invited the jurors to read the note "literally" as a confession.
Also found during searches, the court heard, were more than 250 shift handover sheets containing names of some of the children on the trial indictment.
Mr Johnson said "voyeuristic tendencies" drove her to carry out numerous Facebook searches for parents of children she attacked.
The "rogue nurse" falsified medical notes to cover her tracks and also gaslighted doctors and nurses to persuade them the collapses were "just a run of bad luck".
She was also prepared to publicly trash the reputations of colleagues "in an effort to get away with it", the prosecutor added.
Letby, from Hereford, denied all the allegations.
On August 8 the jury - on its 15th day of deliberations - unanimously found her guilty of attempting to murder two infants by poisoning them with insulin.
Letby fought back tears in the middle of the dock after the verdicts were returned by the jury foreman.
She burst out crying as she left the courtroom with prison officers as relatives of the victims looked on from the public gallery.
Her mother Susan, 63, shielded her face as she wept on the opposite side of the public gallery and was comforted by husband John, 77, who later leaned forward with his head in his hands.
At the start of deliberations on the afternoon of August 11 the jury delivered verdicts on a further six counts.
Letby was found guilty of murdering four babies and attempting to murder two others.
She stared at the floor as the verdicts were returned but was tearful as she left the dock.
Her mother could be heard sobbing and saying "you can't be serious" and "this can't be right".
On August 16 the jury convicted her on six more counts - three murders and three attempted murders - and cleared her of one count of attempted murder.
The grandmother of Child G, a baby girl, gasped as Letby was found guilty of the infant's attempted murder.
Letby was not in the dock as the above verdicts were returned as she did not want to come up from the cells. She was earlier present when the jury resumed its deliberations at the start of the court day.
The morning of August 17 was her last appearance in the courtroom as she went on to tell her legal team that she did not wish to attend any more of the proceedings.
She was offered the opportunity of following her sentencing hearing via prison videolink but said she was not prepared to do that, the court heard.
The jury could not reach verdicts on six counts of attempted murder.
Cheshire Police say they are continuing to review the care of some 4,000 babies who were admitted to the Countess of Chester - and also at Liverpool Women's Hospital when Letby had two work placements - during her employment from 2012.
Only those cases highlighted as concerning medically would be investigated further, police added.
A court order prohibits reporting of the identities of the surviving and dead children who were the subject of the allegations.
Letby's victims
Child A died on June 8, 2015. Letby pumped air into his circulation via a tube in his stomach.
Child C, who had also been born prematurely, died after suffering cardiac arrest on June 14. Letby injected air into his stomach via a nose tube which left him unable to breathe.
Child D died on the morning of June 22. The child, believed to be born with an infection, recovered and was doing well but later collapsed after having air pumped into his bloodstream.
Child E died on August 4 after enduring a huge amount of blood loss, during which Letby is accused of making false nursing notes. Letby attacked the baby, injecting them with air into their bloodstream - and told the baby’s mother to leave.
Child I died on October 23 2015 after enduring four murder attempts. Letby injected air into their stomach via a tube in the days leading up to their death.
Letby murdered Child O, a triplet, on June 23, 2016, by injecting air into his bloodstream.
Child P collapsed and died on June 24, with experts saying it was most likely a result of injected air affecting his breathing.After nine months of evidence, jurors retired to consider verdicts on the 22 charges on July 10.
Joint family statement
Janet Moore, a Family Liaison Co-ordinator with Cheshire Constabulary, issued a statement on behalf of all the families affected by the case on Friday."
She said on their behalf: "Words cannot effectively explain how we are feeling at this moment in time. We are quite simply stunned. To lose a baby is a heart-breaking experience that no parent should ever have to go through. But to lose a baby or to have a baby harmed in these particular circumstances is unimaginable.
"Over the past seven/eight years we have had to go through a long, torturous and emotional journey. From losing our precious new-borns and grieving their loss, seeing our children who survived – some of whom are still suffering today, to being told years later that their death or collapse might be suspicious. Nothing can prepare you for that news.
"Today, justice has been served and a nurse who should have been caring for our babies has been found guilty of harming them. But this justice will not take away the extreme hurt, anger and distress that we have all had to experience.
"Some families did not receive the verdict that they expected and therefore it is a bittersweet result. We are heartbroken, devastated, angry and feel numb. We may never truly know why this happened.
"Words cannot express our gratitude to the jury who have had to sit through 145 days of gruelling evidence, which has led to today’s verdict – we recognise that this has not been an easy task for them and we will forever be grateful for their patience and resilience throughout this incredibly difficult process.
"The police investigation began in 2017 and we have been supported from the very beginning by a team of experienced and dedicated Family Liaison Officers. We want to thank these officers for everything they have done for us.
"Medical experts, consultants, doctors and nursing staff have all given evidence at court, which at times has been extremely harrowing and distressing for us to listen to.
"However, we recognise the determination and commitment that each witness has shown in ensuring that the truth was told. We acknowledge that the evidence given by each of them has been key in securing today’s verdict.
"Finally we would like to acknowledge and thank the investigation team and, more recently, the prosecution team who have led the trial to a successful conclusion. The search for the truth has remained at the forefront of everyone’s minds and we will forever be grateful for this.
"We would now ask for time in peace to process what has happened as we come to terms with today’s verdict."
