'You are a murderer': Lucy Letby clashes with prosecutor as he accuses her of misleading jury with 'sob story'
9 June 2023, 17:35
Lucy Letby was directly branded a "murderer" by a prosecutor as her cross examination came to an end.
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The nurse, who denies murdering seven babies and attempting to kill 10 others at the Countess of Chester Hospital, insisted she was not during a tense clash on Friday.
Letby, of Hereford, is alleged to have injected them with air, insulin or milk between June 2015 and June 2016.
Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC told her she knew she had "killed or grievously injured" the youngsters, which the 33-year-old denied.
He said she had misled jurors with a "sob story", saying she had lost a job she loved.
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She was moved out of the neonatal unit and into clerical work until her arrest two years later on suspicion of harming babies in her care.
Letby had said she felt cut off from her colleagues when she was told she could not talk to them, apart from two nurses and a doctor who prosecutors says she had a "crush" on.
Mr Johnson said messages and photos from her phone, along with diary entries after July 2016, show she was not isolated but instead "out drinking with other people from the unit", "peppered with you out socialising" and "drinking fizz, out on the razzle, going to the races".
She insisted she did not stay the night with a married doctor she was accused of having a crush on, with the prosecution claiming she murdered one triplet, Child O, in a bid to get his attention.
But she did say "there were times over those years when I had good times".
Mr Johnson pointed to Post-it notes after she was taken off the hospital's neo-natal unit which said "I am an awful person.... I AM EVIL I DID THIS", Manchester Crown Court heard.
"You felt like this because you knew you had killed and grievously injured these children," he said.
After Letby denied that, Mr Johnson said: "That's the truth, isn't it? You are a murderer."
"No," said Letby.
Mr Johnson said: "You have murdered many children."
Letby said: "I have never murdered a child or harmed any of them."
Mr Johnson said: "You are a calculated woman aren't you Miss Letby? You tell lies deliberately, don't you?"
Letby said: "No."
She repeatedly denied his claims she told lies to "get sympathy" and "get attention from people".
Mr Johnson said: "And killing these children, you got quite a lot of attention, didn't you?"
Letby said: "I didn't kill any children."
Mr Johnson said: "You are getting quite a lot of attention now, aren't you."
Letby did not reply.
The trial continues.
