For 10 months, the nondescript courtroom has been home to endless discussion, accusations and speculation, as lawyers sought to answer why seven young babies had suddenly collapsed and died in the place they should have been safest.
But in the moments before nurse Lucy Letby was found guilty of their murders, there was only a thick silence in courtroom seven.
For the jury of 11 – seven women and four men – the weight on their shoulders was enormous. But after deliberating for more than 100 hours, the foreman quietly and steadily delivered its rulings.
For her victims’ parents, it has been an agonising and unimaginable wait. Many have stood at the court every day during jurors’ deliberations, waiting to learn if their children – who by now would have been approaching their final years of primary school – were among those targeted by Letby.
They have sat through graphic descriptions of their babies’ final moments, as the prosecution tried to prove Letby poisoned them, pumped them with excessive gas or milk, or violently assaulted them.
One of her victims, Child C, was found with an unexplained amount of air in his gut.
As Letby was found guilty of the baby boy’s murder, his mother sobbed and was comforted by those around her. His father stayed still, staring straight ahead.
Another parent clutched a stuffed rabbit to her face as she tried to hold back tears.
Image: Lucy Letby’s mugshot has now been released. Pic: Cheshire Constabulary
How the verdicts unfolded
Letby was found guilty of seven murders and the attempted murder of six others at the Countess of Chester hospital’s neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.
She was also found not guilty of two charges of attempted murder.
Sky News is one of just five news organisations that have been given a seat inside the trial, with the rest of the world’s media required to watch from the magistrates’ court across the road via a televised link.
All of the children and their parents have been granted anonymity, although their names were read out in the courtroom during the nine-month trial.
Strict reporting restrictions were put in place, which meant the media could not publish any of the verdicts until the jury had found on all counts.
First, after 76 hours of discussions, the jury unanimously found her guilty of the attempted murders of Children F and L.
They agreed with the prosecution that Letby had poisoned their IV drip bags with insulin on separate occasions, eight months apart.
Seated in the glass-fronted dock, Letby is now a shadow of the smiling, ordinary-looking woman pictured in media reports. She was in her mid-20s when she attacked her victims. She is now 33 and spent almost three years behind bars awaiting this trial.
Her once shiny blonde hair hung long and limp around her face, which is now gaunt and angular. Flanked by guards, as the first verdicts were read out, she bowed her head and wiped away tears.
Image: Susan Letby, the mother of Lucy Letby
Her mother, Susan, sobbed as her daughter was taken back to the custody area.
After the first two verdicts, the jury was ordered by the judge, Mr Justice Goss, to try to reach a majority decision on all other counts.
Three days later, the jury returned again and this time, quiet gasps accompanied each guilty verdict in the courtroom.
Letby was found guilty of murdering four of the infants and attempting to murder two more.
She remained emotionless, but as she stood to be taken back down to the cells her shoulders began to shake.
Susan broke down again – whispering “you can’t be serious, this can’t be right” into her husband’s arms – before howling as her only child was led out of court.
Image: John and Susan Letby, the parents of nurse Lucy Letby, outside Manchester Crown Court
Letby refused to come up from cells
A third set of verdicts came after the jury had been discussing the case for 99 hours and 38 minutes.
But this time, the dock was empty as Letby refused to leave the cells. In her absence, she was found guilty of a further three murders and three more attempts. With this, she surpassed Beverley Allitt and became the UK’s most prolific child murderer.
She was also found not guilty of one of the attacks on Child G, a baby girl.
One mother put her head in her hands and sobbed silently as Letby was found guilty of her child’s murder. Another gasped and then cheered quietly. Their relief was visible – like 15 people had just let go of one collective breath.
This time, John and Susan Letby were silent, resigned, and leant on each other with their eyes closed.
Five hours of deliberation later, Letby was cleared of another attempted murder, again in her absence, and made it clear, via her defence barrister, she would not be returning to the courtroom under any circumstances – including for sentencing.
The following day, family members who had already received a verdict for their child returned to court, in a show of solidarity for those who had not.
But on six counts, the jury could not reach a decision.
The father of one child stormed out of the room, and several members of the jury cried, while others put their heads in their hands and looked down.
The jury was discharged from its service and sentencing was scheduled for Monday morning at 10am.
Both Letby and her parents were absent from court.
Image: Court artist Elizabeth Cook drawing outside Manchester Crown Court
The trial
The high-profile case against Letby contrasted with the unremarkable surroundings of courtroom seven at Manchester Crown Court, where the trial sat over for almost a year.
Unlike in the movies, there was no grand wooden interior – instead a small and fairly clinical space where defence barrister Ben Myers KC and Nick Johnson KC, for the prosecution, pored over medical notes, texts, photos and other evidence to make their arguments.
For most of the trial, Letby sat in a dock in front of prison guards, watching as her former friends gave evidence against her, her WhatsApp messages were read out, her Facebook searches revealed and the details of her horrendous crimes made public.
To the right of the dock sat the public gallery which was always filled with the parents of the victims, often teary-eyed but always stoic in their dedication to find out what had happened to their children.
Letby’s parents were positioned in the gallery opposite, frequently making eye contact with their daughter as she was led from the room at the end of each day.
When she was called to give evidence in May, some seven months after the trial started, Letby sat at a small table with two guards on either side of her.
She mostly answered questions calmly but became emotional when photographs of her bedroom after a police search were shown to the court. She spoke quietly and was repeatedly told to raise her voice.
As she was cross-examined she repeatedly contradicted herself, muddling her story, and grew frustrated with the prosecution’s questions. She was accused of only crying for herself – something she denied.
Justice at last for families changed forever
Letby’s fate rested in the hands of 12 ordinary men and women. Partway through deliberations, one had to be discharged for “good personal reasons”, reducing the number to 11.
For 10 months they have listened closely to everything that has been said, studiously making notes, the importance of this job not lost on any of them.
During one set of verdicts, a female member of the jury put her head down and cried, while her fellow jurors looked down at their desks.
No motive has ever been established, and perhaps it will never be known why the “evil” nurse chose to target defenceless infants.
Image: Lucy Letby
Families have been changed forever, and may never truly be able to come to terms with the loss of lives that had only just begun.
And now, Letby could likely face a record-breaking sentence.
For her victims’ families, her imprisonment may finally bring some small justice that has been eight years in the making.
A man has died after suffering cardiac arrest onboard a boat attempting to reach the UK.
The vessel turned back towards Equihen beach on the French coast yesterday morning.
A nurse tried to resuscitate the man but was unsuccessful.
Image: Pic: PA
French authorities have now launched an investigation into the circumstances.
A spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, has criticised authorities on both sides of the Channel.
Jacob Burns said: “Yet again we have a tragedy in the Channel, that is the consequence of the deadly, costly and ineffective security policies implemented by the UK and France.”
Image: Pic: PA
Later on Saturday, a lifeboat carried migrants who have made the voyage into the Port of Dover.
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Photographs showed them huddled under blankets and orange life jackets on board.
“The opportunity of tomorrow and what’s on offer is the best thing in football,” the England captain said. “I think we don’t necessarily carry the weight of it and how much it means to people, but we’re aware of it because it means the same to us.”
So often they were only watching other nations making finals.
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England’s first was the men winning the 1966 World Cup.
Image: England manager Sarina Wiegman reacts to defeat against Spain at the Women’s World Cup final in 2023. Pic: Reuters
Image: Lauren James looks dejected after their World Cup defeat, but is confirmed fit for Sunday’s revenge match against Spain. Pic: Reuters
Now, in Basel, comes the chance for revenge against Spain – even though no one in the England camp is saying that, publicly at least, in Switzerland.
Especially knowing how challenging a task it is coming up again against Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putella – the recent winners of football’s biggest individual honours.
Image: England fans celebrating after England beat Italy to reach the finals. Pic: Reuters
Image: Given England’s history against Spain, it could be a nerve-wracking time for England fans. File pic: Action Images/Reuters
But this is Spain’s first Euros final.
And there is some fear from the world champions at England’s grit and resolve to produce comebacks late in the quarter-finals and semi-finals – with 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang’s goals integral to the fightbacks.
Image: England celebrate their semi-final win against Italy to reach the finals. Pic: Reuters
Image: Michelle Agyemang has propelled England to the Euro 2025 final with two vital goals. Pic: AP
Spain captain Irene Paredes reflected yesterday on how the Lionesses can flip a result late on.
But she was also discussing how their World Cup win was tarnished by the on-pitch kiss that led to former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales being convicted of a sexual assault on striker Jenni Hermoso.
It sparked a wider clamour in Spain for improved rights and respect for women.
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Spain’s players struggle for respect
“Since then [2023] we took big steps forward,” Paredes said.
“I think this idea is disappearing from society. I still believe we have to continue opening doors… we’re a reference for boys and girls in society, but we still have things to do.”
It is a reminder that while tonight is about collecting silverware, both England and Spain know that emerging as champions can drive further growth in women’s football back home.
Amid it all, they’ll try to savour just what reaching a final means and how rare they are – until recently for English and Spanish women.
A woman who thought she was being injected with Botox was left unable to swallow and doctors thought she had suffered a stroke – after she contracted a life-threatening illness from a potentially illegal product.
Nicola Fairley is one of dozens of people who have developed botulism linked to unlicensed anti-wrinkle injections.
She had the procedure done with her regular beautician after winning a Facebook competition for three areas of “Botox”.
Image: Nicola Fairley
“Within two or three hours my forehead and the sides of my eyes had started to freeze,” Nicola says.
“At first I thought ‘amazing’, that’s what I wanted – then it just carried on.”
Nicola was eventually sent to A&E in Durham, where she met several other patients who all had similar symptoms.
Doctors were stumped. “They thought I’d had a stroke,” she says.
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“We all had problems with our eyes, some of us with our breathing. I couldn’t swallow – they put me on nil by mouth because they were worried I would choke in the waiting room.”
Image: Doctors were worried Nicola could choke after she was injected with a suspected illegal product
It turns out all of the patients had recently had anti-wrinkle injections containing botulinum toxin.
Health officials believe they were imported, illegal products.
Botulism – the disease they caused – is so rare many doctors never see it in their entire careers.
It can cause symptoms including slurred speech and breathing problems, and can be deadly.
The disease is so unusual, and so many cases were coming in, that doctors exhausted their stocks of anti-toxin and had to ask hospitals as far away as London to get more.
The UK Health Security Agency has so far confirmed 38 cases of botulism linked to cosmetic toxin injections, but Sky News has been told of several more.
The outbreak began in the North East but cases have now been seen in the East of England and East Midlands as well.
There are only a handful of legal botulinum toxin products in the UK – of which Botox is one.
But cosmetic treatments are largely unregulated, with anyone allowed to inject products like fillers and toxins without any medical training.
Cheap, illegal products imported from overseas are easily available.
Image: Dr Steven Land
‘It’s the Wild West’
Dr Steven Land runs Novellus Aesthetics clinic in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked for decades as an emergency medicine doctor before moving into aesthetics.
He says he has been warning health officials of an outbreak for years.
“It’s the Wild West,” Dr Land told Sky News.
“Because anyone can do this, there is a lack of knowledge around what is legal, what’s not legal, what is okay to be injected.
“These illegal toxins could have 50 units, 5,000 units or rat poison – there could be anything in there.”