UK - Nurse Lucy Letby, Faces 22 Charges - 7 Murder/15 Attempted Murder of Babies #26

[Tortoise]

2:30pm

An infusion therapy sheet for a 10% dextrose prescription is at 3.40pm. Mr Johnson says this explains why the lab result shows a slightly higher blood sugar reading for Child L than the other readings, and that the blood sample was taken at 3.45pm.
Dr John Gibbs said the low blood sugar level should have meant the level of insulin in Child L was also low. He said it had "never occurred to him" that someone was administering insulin to Child L.
He said he had never received the lab results for Child L - they went to junior doctors who "didn't appreciate its significance" at the time.

2:34pm

Mr Johnson said scientist Dr Sarah Davies had phoned through the results to the hospital "as they were so unusual".
The lab at Liverpool was "performing very well" and Mr Johnson says it can be discounted as a possibility that the lab results were in any way "misleading".
He adds "it speaks volumes" that the levels of insulin were double that found for Child E months earlier.
"The poisoner, Lucy Letby, upped the dose for [Child L]."
He says, for timings, the insulin was put in "after the bag was hung" for Child L.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

2:41pm

Mr Johnson says Letby was co-responsible for hanging up the bag for Child L on April 9, and had also co-signed for the previous bag on April 8 at noon.
Prof Hindmarsh says the bag was "not poisoned" before midnight on April 8/9, as the blood sugar readings are "following an upward trend" for Child L.
Insulin "must have been put in" between midnight at 10am on April 9.
Mr Johnson says insulin went into the bag sometime before or at 9.36am, given insulin's half-life of 24 minutes.
Mr Johnson says it "had to have been a targeted attack", and is "not a random poisoning".
He says "whoever is responsible" must have been on duty between midnight at 9.36am.
Mr Johnson says the jury must ask if it could have been a different person. He says "it must have been the same person", and they could "get away with it" as long as "they didn't do it too often".
He says Letby came on duty between 7.30am-8am on April 9.

2:43pm

The insulin that poisoned Child L "was put into more than one bag" and all the staff on duty said they were not responsible for that.
Mr Johnson says the first poisoning was when the bag was already hanging, and the second one was administered to Child L as well.
He says at 9.30am on April 9, Mary Griffith was in room 4. She was not working on the day when Child E was poisoned.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[GoodDayToYouSir]

12:55pm

No other child on the unit was receiving TPN bags that day, in the case of Child F. The turnover of TPN bags was "very low" according to evidence by Yvonne Griffiths.
The bag "was only ever going to one child, isn't it?"
"It's so sly, isn't it?" Mr Johnson says the insulin-contaminated bag was going to be administered when 'the poisoner' was not on duty, to be administered by "an unsuspecting colleague" - "a member of her 'family'".
"What does that tell you about the mindset?"
"It shows you a cynical, cold-blooded" planner, Mr Johnson says.
The amount of insulin in the two bags was 'about the same', which showed there had been thought put into the preparation.
Mr Johnson says Letby "told some interesting lies" about Child F in police interview. "She claimed she hadn't been aware of any concerns about [Child F's] blood sugar."
He says Letby otherwise had a very good memory.
"You know she is lying [from] the text messages she sent to [a nursing colleague]."
Police broke the news of insulin c-peptide to Letby in November 2020, Mr Johnson adds.
The 'surreptitious' searching of Child E&F's mother on Facebook was "never properly explained."
Mr Johnson says Letby was "Cold, calculated, cruel and relentless."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

So is he saying that LL allegedly injected the second tpn bag because (presumably from the way in which they were stored in the fridge), it was obvious that the bag would be going to baby F at some point ? Hence how the second bag hung up when LL wasn’t on duty was affected?

 

[Tortoise]

2:49pm

A third bag was being put together for Child L at the time Child M collapsed.
"Somebody also spiked that bag," Mr Johnson says. He says it was "spiked" sometime after it was hung up at 4.30pm.
Mr Johnson asks if somebody did this to "frame" Lucy Letby, and if she didn't do this, then somebody also targeted Child E, and targeted Lucy Letby to take the blame.
"We suggest that is not a reasonable possibility - that is why all the other cases are so important, they are not coincidences."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

Mr Johnson asks the jury, 'did somebody do this to frame Lucy Letby? 'That's the only alternative to her being the person responsible and if Lucy Letby didn’t do it, then whoever did also targeted (Child F) and targeted Lucy Letby to take the blame'

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

Mr Johnson adds 'we suggest that this is not a reasonable possibility….it just doesn’t work'

 

[Tortoise]

2:51pm

Mr Johnson moves to Child M, who was "a picture of health" after his birth, and "was doing just fine".
"The fact that his twin was poisoned puts his case into sharp relief.
"What are the chances of a healthy baby boy collapsing in such an extreme way? The evidence, as you have heard from the doctors, is not very big.
"What are the chances of this happening at the same time his brother was poisoned...and [point] you to the identity of the attacker?"

2:54pm

Mr Johnson says "circumstantial evidence" can be "very very powerful", and this is a case where it is.
Child M suffered a "profound collapse", from which "he made a miraculous recovery" - "how many times have you heard that before [in this case[?]]"
He said this was "entirely out of natural process".

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Marantz4250b]

He says the level of insulin in Child L was double that found in Child F several months earlier.
NJ: "That tells you a lot about intention, doesn't it?"

Intention to kill - need to prove this for the attempted murder charge (only need to prove intention to cause GBH for murder).

So when child L didn't die, she allegedly doubled the dose. If she only wanted to cause harm she could have left it the same. Very nicely done, NJ.

That does look pretty damning, tbh.

MOO

 

[marynnu]

I suppose you have to ask yourself how many times you can say "This is extremely unlikely, I've never seen or heard of it, but I suppose it might be possible". Once, twice, three times....? Eventually the whole thing tips over the edge of coincidence & bad luck. JMO.

 

[Tortoise]

2:59pm

Dr Anthony Ukoh had noted there were issues with aspirates and a slightly distended abdomen for Child M, "but nothing to indicate he was to become seriously unwell".
On April 9 at 3.30pm he was put on to 10% dextrose, co-signed by Lucy Letby and Mary Griffith. He did not get a bag with insulin in, Mr Johnson tells the court.
Mr Johnson says Mary Griffith was about to take a blood sample for Child L and make up a 12.5% dextrose solution, which would take time.
Mr Johnson says Letby would have administered this 10% dextrose infusion for Child M.
The parents of Child L and Child M had given evidence to say one of the doctors was "pressing [Child M's] chest" '10 minutes after we had left the boys'.
Child M had gone from "fine" to "life-threatening emergency CPR" and the father was left "praying", Mr Johnson says.
He says it can be discounted this was all 'unlucky coincidence'.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
29s

Mr Johnson references the nursing notes found in Ms Letby's home. Some of which releated to this child. He says Ms Letby has said 'it came home with me'...he dismisses this 'Like a dog following behind, these are inanimate objects'

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

He says her explanation was 'I collect paper' 'How long has Lucy Letby had to come up with a reason, here we are now, seven years later. The best reason is I collect paper'

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
56s

Mr Johnson adds 'avid collectors are usually sad old men like me, most collectors know what they’ve got in their collection….its absolute nonsense'

 

[Tortoise]

3:08pm

Mr Johnson refers to a paper towel on the resuscitation notes for Child M "which found its way, under its own steam, to Letby's home".
NJ: "It 'quote', "came home with me" - sounds like a dog following home, doesn't it?
"Her explanation - I collect paper.
"How long has Lucy Letby had to come up with a reason? Here we are now, 7 years later, and her best reason is 'I collect paper'."
"Most collectors know what they collect - [it's] absolute nonsense."
He adds: "Somebody sabotaged [Child M], didn't they?"
The attacks were "almost signature" as Child M deteriorated, and six adrenaline doses were given.
"It is a signature of the consequences of many of these attacks."
Child M was "at the very edge of life" and the resuscitation "took 30 minutes with no response". 20 minutes is "the usual watershed", according to Dr Ravi Jayaram.
Dr Jayaram had the 'difficult conversation' with the parents, but Child M had a "miraculous recovery."
Mr Johnson says Dr Jayaram 'wasn't sure what we had done' [to make Child M recover].
Dr Jayaram had noted skin discolouration on Child M, that "flitted around" "appearing and disappearing".
Dr Jayaram said: "Because [Child M] was darker skinned, it was more obvious." He added: "I have never seen this before [Child A]."
Letby, in interview and cross-examination, had suggested the lighting in room 1 was 'not very good' and that was a possible reason why she could not see what Dr Jayaram had seen.
Mr Johnson refers to Child I, when Letby could see in very poor lighting what her condition was.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

Andy Gill
@MerseyHack
·
15s

“We suggest that not only is Lucy Letby prepared to kill and to try to kill babies, she’s also prepared to publicly trash the reputations of medical people in an effort to get away with it.” Miss Letby denies all the charges she faces.




Dan O'Donoghue
@MrDanDonoghue
·
43s

Mr Johnson references the case of Child M. During his collapse, Dr Ravi Jayaram noted skin discolouration on that 'flitted around' and appeared and disappeared

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

Ms Letby, in her police interview and cross-examination, had suggested the lighting in room one was 'not very good' and that was a possible reason why she could not see what Dr Jayaram had seen

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

Mr Johnson says 'we suggest not only is Lucy Letby prepared to kill babies, but also prepared to publicly trash the reputations of professional responsible people in an effort to get away with it'

 

[Tortoise]

3:14pm

Dr Jayaram had asked, in cross-examination, if he was being accused of making things up.
"What is Lucy Letby's case, if Dr Jayaram is making things up?"
Mr Johnson said it had been suggested Dr Jayaram had, in cross-examination, 'added dramatic detail' by mentioning the skin discolouration descriptions but not recording it contemporaneously in notes at the time, and had been accused of 'dramatic detail' when he said a 'shiver had gone down his spine' when he first read about the effects of air embolous.
NJ: "We suggest that not only is Letby murdering babies, she is also prepared to trash the reputations of professional people in order to get away with it."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

"What is Lucy Letby's case, if Dr Jayaram is making things up?"

Wonder if he's made another typo here and should have written 'not making things up?'

 

[JerseyGirl]

Lucy Letby trial: Nurse 'gaslighted colleagues to hide baby murders'

Nurse Lucy Letby is accused of being a "calculating and devious" opportunist who killed babies.

www.bbc.com

 

[Tortoise]

3:30pm

Mr Johnson says after the collapse of Child M, the night-shift of April 9/10 happened, and a Countess doctor described there was a plan to remove Child M's ET tube, following an "astonishing" recovery. He was put on to 'bi-pap' within 12 hours, and there was "no cause for concern" for a child who had had "such a devastating collapse".
Dr Gibbs had queries NEC and sepsis at the time, but those could be excluded by following evidence. Child M required a dose of caffeine for a slowing breathing rate at the end of the following day.
Dr Stavros Stivaros later said Child M had suffered a brain injury. Mr Johnson says this was as a result of the collapse.
Mr Johnson says 'a fairly typical picture' in this case is of babies collapsing rapidly and unexpectedly, and recovering just as quickly.
Medical expert Dr Dewi Evans said there had been no reason to do blood tests for infection, and subsequent tests ruled that out in any case. Dr Evans and Dr Sandie Bohin had said the cause of the collapse was an air embolous.
Mr Johnson says there had been "evolving means of attack" by Letby.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Blondiexoxo]

These alleged tendencies could explain why she took the stand. IMO

IMO it ties in to the need for power and control. Feeling secure in the knowledge that you have the skills to manipulate and can deflect blame in multiple directions when there are multiple colleagues to place in the firing line. If this is possibly a reason she took the stand, I don’t think she was banking on NJ having such an extensive knowledge of the facts of this case and being able to back up his accusations with prior evidence.

It’s kind of delusional IMO I’m glad NJ has drawn attention to it. Also how she seemed so confident when saying to a colleague ‘if they have nothing on me then they’ll look silly - not me’… IMO if guilty, that confidence may have come from believing that even if they had ‘anything on me’ then she’d be able to use her skills of manipulation to deflect blame.
Found it interesting though the use of the word if… if you knew you hadn’t don’t anything wrong then why would you say ‘if they have nothing on me’?
MOO

 

[Tortoise]

3:38pm

Mr Johnson says there is only one conclusion, as said at the beginning of the trial - "there was a poisoner at work" in the Countess of Chester Hospital's neonatal unit.
He says it has not been suggested by Letby or the defence that anyone was responsible for poisoning Child F and Child L.
Child F was poisoned with two bags, and Child L was poisoned "with at least two bags", until the 15% dextrose bag was fitted and he began to improve.
"Lucy Letby and Belinda [Simcock] were the only ones present when both [Child F and Child L] were poisoned."
Mr Johnson says: "You can dismiss the possibiliy that two murderers were working in the same unit at the same time."
Mr Johnson says Letby has 'rowed back' from disputing the acuracy of the insulin readings between her defence statement and giving evidence, and says it will be 'interesting' how the defence get her out 'of that particular creek'.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

3:40pm

Mr Johnson moves to the case of Child K. He recalls the evidence heard by Dr Ravi Jayaram that Lucy Letby was "standing over" Child K as the alarm sounded and she did nothing. Mr Johnson says Letby had displaced Child K's ET Tube.
The Child K case "shines a bright light" for what happened in Child E, Mr Johnson says, when Letby "was almost caught red-handed".

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, June 19 - closing speeches

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
2m

On the insulin cases, Mr Johnson quotes what Ms Letby initially said vs what she said in the witness box. He says the nurse 'rowed back' and accepted the two children had been somehow poisoned with insulin, as to deny it would make her look 'silly'

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

But he says by accepting the children were poisoned, it has placed her in a difficult position - he tells the jury to watch how the defence 'pilot Lucy Letby out of that particular creek'

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

Mr Johnson says if the jury accepts that Ms Letby poisoned those two children with insulin, 'it puts all the other cases into a very clear context'