Lucy Letby trial day three: Nurse ‘killed two out of three triplets’ – and ‘smiled after killing another premature baby girl at fourth attempt’
A neonatal nurse killed two out of three triplet boys and smiled after killing another premature baby girl on the fourth attempt, a court has heard.
Lucy Letby is charged with 22 counts of murder and attempted murder, involving 17 babies, and is alleged to have gone on a year-long killing spree at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.
Letby, of Arran Avenue, Hereford, has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
See the latest updates from court
She denies murdering five boys and two girls and attempting to murder another five boys and five girls.
Warning: This article contains descriptions of newborn and infant deaths, which some readers may find distressing
During the third day of the trial at Manchester Crown Court, jurors were told about eight babies who, the prosecution says, were attacked by Letby.
Pic: Shutterstock
Letby ‘killed two triplet boys’
Prosecutors told the court about Children O and P – two of three triplet boys who Letby allegedly murdered.
Child O died within a few minutes of Letby entering the neonatal unit, at a time when Letby was alone in his room.
Following his death, he was found to have severe liver damage beyond that expected from the CPR he had undergone.
Nick Johnson KC told the court that independent medical experts concluded the damage was “likely the result of some impact trauma”.
“In brutal terms, an assault,” the prosecutor said.
A consultant at the hospital said he was “particularly concerned” about Child O’s death because he had been “clinically stable” beforehand.
What happened on day two of the Lucy Letby trial
Nurse ‘smiled’ after death – and sent sympathy card to victim’s family
“Cold-blooded” Lucy Letby tried to kill one “resilient” newborn girl four times “before succeeding”, the court was told.
Letby was also questioned by police about why she had sent a sympathy card to the baby’s parents.
She had said this was the only time she had done it, “but it is not often the nurses got to know a family as well as they had known Child I’s.”
She accepted to officers that she had kept an image of the card on her phone.
Following Child I’s death on 23 October, Letby asked her parents if they wanted to bathe their baby daughter.
Mr Johnson told the court as the baby’s mother “bathed her recently departed child, Lucy Letby came into the room and in the words of the mother was ‘smiling and kept going on about how she was present at Child I’s first bath and how much Child I had loved it’.”
An independent medical expert concluded the “constellation of findings would strongly indicate Child I died due to unnatural causes”.
Letby is charged with 22 counts of murder and attempted murder
Consultants at hospital had grown suspicious of Letby
By the time Child L was attacked, in April 2016, doctors at the hospital had grown suspicious of Letby.
“By this time Letby was supposed only to be working day shifts because the consultants were concerned about the correlation between her presence and unexpected deaths/life-threatening episodes on the night shifts,” the prosecution told the court.
One consultant walked in on Letby trying to kill Child K after he had grown concerned about the baby being left alone with her, the prosecution said.
The consultant began to feel “uncomfortable” when he realised Letby was alone with the child “because he was beginning to notice the coincidence between the unexplained deaths/serious collapses and the presence of Lucy Letby”.
When he walked into the room, he noted that the infant’s breathing tube was dislodged.
“We alleged she was trying to kill Child K when the paediatric consultant walked in on her,” Mr Johnson told the court.
Pre-term baby ‘screamed’ for 30 minutes
Letby allegedly used the haemophilia of one child – known as Child N – as a cover under which to attack him.
The disease, which causes bleeding for no reason, was attributed to many of the episodes involving the infant boy.
In one instance, the infant’s throat was so swollen and covered with “fresh blood” that a consultant was unable to get a breathing tube down.
There were more attempts made to reintubate Child N, as he was so unwell, but doctors were “unable to see down Child N’s throat because the view was obscured by fresh blood” and a specialist team had to be called in.
“Something – somebody, we say – had caused Child N to bleed again,” the prosecution said.
Child N experienced a “sudden deterioration” which was consistent with some kind of “inflicted injury which caused severe pain, distress and destabilised him”, the court heard.
Independent medical experts said this was “consistent with inflicted injury or having received an injection of air”, jurors were told.
One of the medical experts wrote: “This is life-threatening. He was also noted to be… ‘screaming’ and apparently cried for 30 minutes.
“This is most unusual.
“I have never observed a premature neonate to scream.”
The trial continues.
The Queen has withdrawn from attending the funeral of the Duchess of Kent while she recovers from illness.
Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday that Queen Camilla is recovering from acute sinusitis.
Camilla, 78, was due to join the King and other members of the Royal Family at the funeral at Westminster Cathedral this afternoon.
The withdrawal raises questions over her attendance for US President Donald Trump‘s state visit, which begins at Windsor on Wednesday.
The visit is being hosted by King Charles.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were due to attend the funeral together. Pic: PA
But the Queen is hopeful she will recover in time to attend all royal elements of Mr Trump’s trip, which includes a lavish state banquet.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “With great regret, Her Majesty The Queen has withdrawn from attendance at this afternoon’s Requiem Mass for The Duchess of Kent as she is recovering from acute sinusitis.”
The Duke of Kent has been informed and is said to fully understand the decision, wishing her a speedy recovery.
The Queen had travelled down from Scotland this morning and is currently travelling to Windsor, where she will rest.
“Her thoughts and prayers will be with The Duke of Kent and all the family.”
The requiem mass, which is a Catholic funeral, is the first to be held for a member of the monarchy in modern British history.
Royals in attendance included Prince William, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.
Pics: PA
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, were also seen approaching Westminster Cathedral for the service.
Pic: PA
Former Formula One world champion Sir Jackie Stewart and actresses Rula Lenska and Dame Maureen Lipman were also among the mourners.
Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, who became the oldest living member of the Royal Family when Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022, died at the age of 92 on 4 September.
There has been no expense spared for the UK’s biggest security operation since the King’s coronation.
This time the occasion is both royal and presidential. It is vast and honestly feels, well, American.
The operation has been led by Thames Valley Police, but officers from across the UK will also play a part in the visit.
Windsor is a sea of fluorescent yellow jackets and black and white flat caps. Officers are swarming the town and over the next couple of days will be sending drones into crowds, conducting boat patrols and deploying mounted units in and around the wider area.
Authorities have planned for every eventuality but would not expand on whether the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk had led them to heighten security measures.
Officers patrolling the River Thames
Police on horses in Windsor. Pic: Reuters
The assassination of the US activist may have intensified consideration about potential threats, but authorities have had extensive security plans in the works for months.
Operational firearms commander Sergeant Dan Hatfield explained that the police presence will be heightened – and every plan has been worked on in conjunction with the Secret Service.
“The residents of Windsor and visitors to Windsor are used to seeing a fairly high police presence, including armed police,” Sgt Hatfield said.
“However, for this state visit, they will see an increase in those numbers. Fortunately, I’ve had experience working with the Americans with all the Secret Service. We have a really good working relationship and work fairly harmoniously together to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
A member of the Blues and Royals prepares for a first ride-out ahead of rehearsals for the state visit. Pic: PA
Whether in the air, on the ground or on the water, safety is paramount.
On a visit with the Thames Valley marine unit, Sky News witnessed what their 24-hour patrol of the waterways would look like.
A section of the River Thames that borders the Castle will be closed off during the visit.
Sergeant Lyn Smith, head of the joint operations marine unit between the Thames Valley and Hampshire forces, said this is the biggest event she has worked on.
“The team is highly trained, we are ready for anything that will happen on or around the water,” she said.
“The marine support unit are going to be doing high visibility patrols, some searching, some specialist searching in and around the area, and working with our partners in the Environment Agency to deliver a safe event.
“Similar to President Macron’s state visit, we are still providing capability on the water, it’s just on a larger scale for us.”
Police dog Jack, from Thames Valley Police, has been carrying out security searches. Pic: PA
Security fences along the Long Walk near Windsor Castle. Pic: Reuters
Read more:
What we know about Trump’s state visit
What Trump’s second state visit really means
Notably, for the first time in any state visit or royal occasion, the section of the Long Walk leading up to the castle has been cordoned off with large white barricades erected to shield the residence from view.
Airspace over the town is also restricted for the duration of the visit, enforced using police drones and helicopters.
Vehicles will be standing by close to patrol officers on the ground, holding their ballistic helmets, ballistic vests and shields if an incident occurs.
Thousands of protesters plan to descend on Windsor and central London during the visit to demonstrate against the president’s trip.
A rally in central London on Wednesday is expected to draw the largest crowd, but protesters from the Stop Trump Coalition have now confirmed plans for a Tuesday event too.
A royal welcome may not be extended by all – but many will be hoping they won’t drown out the pomp for the president.
Google is set to invest £5bn in the UK in the next two years, to support growing demands for AI services.
The announcement, which comes as Google opens a new data centre in Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, is expected to contribute to the creation of thousands of jobs, the US tech giant said.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves described it as a “vote of confidence” in the UK economy.
The news comes hours before Donald Trump lands in the UK for a state visit at which he and Sir Keir Starmer are widely expected to sign a new UK-US tech deal.
It also follows reports that ChatGPT parent firm OpenAI, and Nvidia, will also unveil billions of dollars’ worth of investment into UK data centres this week.
The chancellor said the investment would boost research and development, capital expenditure and engineering.
However, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has criticised the proposed deal as a “Silicon Valley stitch-up”, and has demanded that the government put it to a vote in parliament.
He said: “I am really concerned the government is going to agree to a Silicon Valley stitch-up that hands tax cuts to tech billionaires while undermining protections for our children online.”
Sir Ed added: “Parents want protections for children online to be kept in place, not traded away in a backroom deal with tech barons.
“We can’t let the government sign up to a deal that benefits Elon Musk at the expense of the British people.”
Sir Ed Davey
Read more:
What Elon Musk told crowds in London via video link
Google has confirmed it will invest £5bn into capital expenditure, research and development, and related engineering over the next two years, which will include “pioneering” AI research in science and healthcare through its DeepMind operation.
The Silicon Valley firm said the investment will help the UK grow its AI economy and contribute to technological breakthroughs, improvements in cybersecurity and job creation.
Google predicted the investment will help to create 8,250 jobs annually at UK businesses.
DeepMind co-founder and chief executive Demis Hassabis said: “We founded DeepMind in London because we knew the UK had the potential and talent to be a global hub for pioneering AI.
“The UK has a rich history of being at the forefront of technology – from Lovelace to Babbage to Turing – so it’s fitting that we’re continuing that legacy by investing in the next wave of innovation and scientific discovery in the UK.”
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