Lucy Letby: Mother fears killer nurse harmed her baby in act of revenge
A mother has told Sky News she fears her newborn baby was harmed by child murderer Lucy Letby the day after she made a complaint about the nurse.
Lynsey Artell gave birth to her son Asa in March 2016 as Letby was attacking babies and stalking the corridors of the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Letby has been found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six other infants.
Ms Artell says she and her husband were discussing how their premature son was making good progress on the unit when the couple noticed Letby eavesdropping on their conversation.
She says, out of the blue, Letby told them: “I don’t like parents getting their hopes up because we never know what could happen at this stage.”
Read more: Follow live reaction from court
Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Pic: Shutterstock
Ms Artell, who was herself a nurse at the hospital and had suffered numerous miscarriages, made a complaint to senior staff on the ward.
Speaking exclusively to Sky News, she said: “As a parent, I absolutely erupted and was furious. How dare you take that hope away from me?
“This was my seventh pregnancy… she needed to know that that was inappropriate.”
Mother fears killer nurse harmed her baby
Ms Artell now fears her actions could have prompted Letby to attack little Asa as he lay helpless in his ventilator.
The next day, the mother briefly left her two-day-old son’s bedside to get a coffee. When she returned, nurses and doctors were gathered around him, drawing the screens.
He’d had a huge spike in his insulin levels and was receiving urgent treatment.
During her trial, the court heard one of Letby’s favoured methods of attack was injecting her tiny victims with insulin.
The new mother watched as medics worked on her son.
“I just thought I don’t want to lose another one,” she said. “I hadn’t even held him yet.”
Mercifully, doctors managed to bring Asa back around, and eventually he was discharged from hospital.
Asa was saved by doctors
Chilling conversations of Letby’s suspicious colleagues
Ms Artell had concerns and still has not received a satisfactory answer into why her son’s insulin levels shot up with no warning.
After Letby was arrested, Ms Artell contacted police who investigated twice but did not bring charges in relation to Asa.
“I would have liked them to have spoken to us,” she said.
“It’s frustrating… because they haven’t got the whole facts. You think ‘oh my god, I was so close’.”
Having worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital, she also recalls chilling conversations from suspicious colleagues when there was a medical emergency.
She said: “When alarms would go off, during the night especially, there would be a phrase that people would use, colleagues that I know. They would say: ‘I wonder if Lucy’s working tonight?’.”
Following the verdicts, Ms Artell now hopes police will reinvestigate her case and others, and that more charges may be brought.
She also wants a public inquiry so lessons can be learned, and Letby’s horrific crimes can never be repeated.
“A guilty verdict is brilliant for some people, they get justice,” Ms Artell said.
“It doesn’t bring anyone back, but it gives some people some answers. But it also leaves many people who haven’t had answers, like me.”
Read more:
More families told their children could be victims
Inside court and the trial of a baby killer
Parents of boys Letby tried to kill criticise hospital
Video shows moment of Letby arrest
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, of Cheshire Police, told Sky News: “We’re obviously committed to looking at the entire time that Lucy has been employed as a nurse, whether it’s at the unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital or the Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
“That’s to make sure that at the end of Operation Hummingbird we can say, with a degree of confidence, that we’ve investigated every baby who has been in the neonatal unit and we’re confident that there are, or are not, further cases.”
Sky News has contacted the Countess of Chester Hospital for comment.
UK
‘Major incident’ declared in Northern Ireland as wildfire breaks out amid higher-than-normal temperatures
A major incident has been declared in Northern Ireland after a wildfire broke out, the latest in a series of blazes seen across the UK over the past week amid soaring temperatures.
More than 100 firefighters and 14 fire appliances were at the scene of the “significant” wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said.
The fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”, the service said.
The wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown. Pic: Sky Watch NI
“Local residents are requested to avoid the area, a number of roads have been closed, to help support firefighting operations,” the fire service added.
“We ask that all members of the public remain particularly vigilant to the risk of fire at this time. We can reassure members of the public that normal service delivery is being maintained.”
More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire. Pic: Sky Watch NI
Various fires erupted across England this week amid uncharacteristically warm and dry conditions for the time of year.
On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.
Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”
Moors Valley Country Park blackened by fires this week
Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.
In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.
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Wildfires spread across nature reserve
Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.
Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.
The weather conditions triggered a “severe” wildfire rating for parts of the UK on Tuesday.
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