‘Outpouring of comments’ about killer nurse Lucy Letty’s convictions ‘distressing for victims’ parents,’ inquiry hears
10 September 2024, 15:02 | Updated: 10 September 2024, 15:13
The chair of the Lucy Letby inquiry says those raising doubts about the former nurse's conviction have caused "enormous additional distress" to the parents.
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Lady Justice Thirlwall told the hearing the speculation is coming from people who were not at the trial.
Some claim that Letby's verdict is reliant on faulty evidence and have cast doubt on the safety of her conviction.
The nurse is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
In May, she lost her attempt at the Court of Appeal bid to challenge her convictions from her first trial.
A Letby victim's family previously told the Mirror: “Lucy Letby is a serial killer."She has been convicted by two separate juries and she has been through the Court of Appeal and been denied.
"There is no conspiracy. The last couple of years have been torture, our babies’ memories tarnished.
Read More: Lucy Letby 'hires new barrister' in bid to overturn murder convictions
”Letby reportedly still holds hope for overturning her conviction - and has hired a new legal team to do so.Her newly-appointed barrister Mark McDonald told the BBC :
“There is a strong case that she is innocent. The fact is juries get it wrong. And yes, so does the Court of Appeal, history teaches us that.”
The killer nurse was found guilty of trying to murder a premature baby at the Countess of Chester Hospital in February 2016 earlier this year.
The 34-year-old was convicted by another jury last August of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neo-natal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.
Letby was found guilty after a retrial at Manchester Crown Court.
Prosecutors said that Letby had displaced Baby K’s breathing tube and had been caught "virtually red-handed" when a doctor walked into the room.
In recent weeks, high-profile figures such as former Tory Brexit secretary David Davis have also expressed doubt over Letby's conviction.
Lady Justice Thirlwall said it was planned that the hearings in Liverpool would finish in early 2025 and she expected her findings to be published by late autumn of that year.
A court order prohibits reporting of the identities of the surviving and dead children involved in the case.
