Lucy Letby: Nurse accused of murdering seven babies cries in court and says it was ‘sickening’ being blamed for their death
A nurse accused of murdering seven babies has denied harming any children as she gave evidence for the first time, crying at one point as she told the court “everything is just gone”.
Lucy Letby is also accused of 10 attempted murders between 2015 and 2016, allegedly using methods such as injecting air into the babies or poisoning them with insulin.
The prosecution alleges Letby was a “constant malevolent presence” in the neo-natal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire.
The jury finally heard from the 33-year-old, seven months into her trial.
She told Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday she had probably cared for hundreds of babies at the hospital.
Lucy Letby trial as it happened
Letby said it was “sickening” when she discovered she was being blamed for a number of baby deaths while doing the job she “loved”.
“It was devastating. I don’t think you could be accused of anything worse than that,” she said.
Asked by her barrister if she ever did anything “meant to hurt any of them”, she replied: “No, I only did my best to care for them.”
Letby said she never wanted to harm any baby, saying it was “completely against everything that being a nurse is… I’m there to help and to care”.
The defendant told the court about the three times she was arrested by police, on suspicion of murder and attempted murder of babies – calling it “traumatising”.
Letby became tearful on several occasions during Tuesday’s evidence, such as when shown a photo of her bedroom during a police search.
She also appeared to cry and wipe her eyes when her barrister, Ben Meyers KC, asked how hard it was to cope with her situation.
“Everything about me and about my life, and the hopes I had for the future, everything is just gone,” said Letby – who later said she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Among items recovered during the search of Letby’s home in Chester included a Post-it note found in a diary.
Among words written on the note were, in capitals, “I am evil I did this”, the court has heard.
Letby also 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.”
Mr Meyers asked her: “When you say killed them on purpose does that mean you’ve gone and done something intentionally?”
Letby replied: “No”.
Asked to explain, she said it meant she hadn’t “been good enough and that I’ve somehow failed in my duties and my competencies”.
Letby said she’d written it because “I felt at the time I had done something wrong and I thought I’m such an awful, evil person… that I had made mistakes and not known”.
Mr Myers asked: “What did you thought you had done?”
“That somehow I had been incompetent and I had done something wrong to affect these babies. I felt I must be responsible in some way,” Letby replied.
She said the scrawled note “was a way of me expressing how I felt at the time that I wasn’t able to say to anyone else”.
Family of the alleged victims – who cannot be named – watched from the public gallery as Letby gave evidence, as did her own parents.
Letby, from Hereford, denies all the allegations.
The trial continues.
UK
Harshita Brella: Woman found in car boot in Ilford died from strangulation – as CCTV of suspect released
A woman whose body was found in the boot of a car last week died from strangulation, according to a post-mortem examination.
A manhunt is under way for Harshita Brella’s husband, Pankaj Lamba, who police believe has fled the country.
Officers said today that her body was discovered in a silver Vauxhall Corsa.
They believe she was killed on the evening of Sunday 10 November and driven in the early hours from the couple’s home in Corby, Northamptonshire, to Ilford in east London.
The body was found in a Vauxhall Corsa. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Police believe Pankaj Lamba has fled the UK
It’s understood the 24-year-old had been under the protection of a court order for victims of domestic abuse.
Northamptonshire Police said officers began searching for her after receiving a call with concerns for her welfare on 13 November – the day before she was found dead.
A post-mortem examination found Ms Brella’s preliminary cause of death was strangulation, police said.
New CCTV images of Pankaj Lamba, 23, have also been released as the manhunt continues.
Ms Brella lived in Corby. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
The couple lived at an address in Skegness Walk. Pic: PA
Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell, from the East Midlands major crime unit, said: “We suspect Harshita’s body had been placed in the boot of the vehicle by Lamba before leaving Corby.
“Lamba then abandoned the vehicle in Brisbane Road, Ilford, and made his getaway.”
Northamptonshire Police, the East Midlands major crime unit and the National Crime Agency are working together to try to find him.
New CCTV of the suspect has been released
Pics: Northamptonshire Police
An inquest into Ms Brella’s death will be opened on 20 November at The Guildhall in Northampton.
Anyone who thinks they might have seen Pankaj Lamba is urged to make contact as soon as possible.
“Any information, no matter how small, may be relevant to the investigation and help us get justice for Harshita,” said DCI Campbell.
People with relevant information can call 101, Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, or online at mipp.police.uk
Zoe Ball is leaving her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show after six years.
The 53-year-old, who recently lost her mother to cancer, will present her last show on Friday, 20 December.
Ball leaves Wogan House with her replacement, Scott Mills. Pic: PA
She said she was leaving to focus on family, but will remain part of the Radio 2 team and will give further details next year.
Announcing the news on her Tuesday show, she said: “After six years of fun times alongside you all on the breakfast show, I’ve decided it’s time to step away from the early alarm call and start a new chapter.
“You know I think the world of you all, listeners, and it truly has been such a privilege to share the mornings with you, to go through life’s little ups and downs, we got through the lockdown together, didn’t we?
“We’ve shared a hell of a lot, the good times, the tough times, there’s been a lot of laughter. And I am going to miss you cats.”
Scott Mills will replace Ball on the breakfast show following her departure next month.
“Zoe and I have been such good friends now for over 25 years and have spent much of that time as part of the same radio family here at Radio 2 and also on Radio 1,” he said.
“She’s done an incredible job on this show over the past six years, and I am beyond excited to be handed the baton.”
Hugging outside the BBC building on the day of the announcement, Ball said she was “really chuffed for my mate and really excited about it”.
Ball was the first female host of both the BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows, starting at the Radio 1 breakfast show in 1998, and taking over her current Radio 2 role from Chris Evans in 2020 after he left the show.
She took a break from hosting her show over the summer, returning in September.
Ahead of her stint in radio, Ball – who is the daughter of children’s presenter Johnny Ball – co-hosted the BBC’s Saturday morning children’s magazine show Live & Kicking alongside Jamie Theakston for three years from 1996.
She has two children, Woody and Nelly, with her ex-husband, DJ and musician Norman Cook, known professionally as Fatboy Slim.
Ball said in her announcement her last show towards the end of December will be “just in time for Christmas with plenty of fun and shenanigans”.
“While I’m stepping away from the Breakfast Show, I’m not disappearing entirely – I’ll still be a part of the Radio 2 family, with more news in the New Year,” she added.
“I’m excited to embrace my next chapter, including being a mum in the mornings, and I can’t wait to tune in on the school run!”
Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: “Zoe has woken up the nation on Radio 2 with incredible warmth, wit and so much joy since January 2019, and I’d like to thank her for approaching each show with as much vim and vigour as if it were her first. I’m thrilled that she’ll remain an important part of the Radio 2 family.”
Mills, 51, got his first presenting role aged just 16 for a local station in Hampshire, and went on to present in Bristol and Manchester, before joining BBC Radio 1 in 1998.
He’s previously worked as a cover presenter on Radio 2, but this is his first permanent role on the station.
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