GUILTY UK - Nurse Lucy Letby, murder of babies, 7 Guilty of murder verdicts; 7 Guilty of attempted murder; 2 Not Guilty of attempted; 6 hung re attempted #32

[MachinaCollecta]

Will there be cameras at the sentencing?

Yes, the sentencing part will be televised

 

[iamshadow21]

Yes, the sentencing part will be televised

Anyone know if it's going to be viewable outside the UK?

 

[cuecard]

I see both sides regarding her presence at her sentencing. Yes, today belongs to those families but I don’t know, I find LL cowardliness and lack of regard/ownership of what she has done a disgrace and feel like she should be there to hear those impact statements. The judicial process continues to be a very complex and thought provoking system.

 

[Tortoise]

Posted at 11:4311:43

'We pleaded with doctors to get the surviving triplet to another hospital'​

Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
The father of babies O and P - two brothers killed by Letby who were part of a set of triplets - tells the court how his second son became poorly the day after their other son had died.
"I did not know what was happening, we were still waiting for an explanation for [baby O]. The experience seemed far worse than the previous day, I knew it was bad, and I was terrified at losing another boy.
"The whole ordeal was a repeat of the previous day, I knew it was not going to end well. I thought we were going down the same road as we did with baby O".
"[Baby P] sadly passed away later that afternoon... We pleaded with the doctor that they had to take (the surviving triplet) with them to the Liverpool Women's Hospital and that he could not stay in this hospital and that he wasn’t safe there.
"All I could think about was getting [triplet 3] out of the Countess. Eventually they agreed to take him and we were overjoyed on hearing this news".

11:46

Normal life became impossible to enjoy, says father​

Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
The father of murdered babies O and P says he "did not receive any counselling or support, after losing the boys".
"I didn’t know how to deal with situation or what to tell our eldest child, we had had no guidance for the siblings.
"There was no contact from the Countess whatsoever, our extended family kindly offered to collect the memory boxes, but this wasn’t acceptable at the Countess, the hospital wanted the direct family to collect which made us very upset and angry as we never had any intentions of returning."
He adds: "I did briefly return to work, but then the breakdowns happened which affected my mental health, I became irritable, angry, and bad tempered and started having terrible nightmares. I hid all of this from [my partner] and didn’t share my thoughts and feelings which placed a huge amount of stress on the relationship".
"I found it difficult to talk about what had happened, I could not grieve properly and became cocooned and insular. Everyday life was difficult, just getting up and living was a struggle. It was difficult to be happy around [the surviving triplet] and our eldest child, I felt guilty if I showed any happiness, normal life was impossible to enjoy. This affected our children when he saw me upset."

Posted at 11:4911:49

'I was gobsmacked when Letby was arrested'​

Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
The father of babies O and P, who were both killed, says his mental health deteriorated: "As time went on, around a year after [their] first anniversary, I was still struggling to come to terms with their deaths and so I turned to alcohol... One day I took the car keys and had thoughts of ending my life..."
"Life was slowly improving but then in 2018, police informed us that nurse Lucy Letby had been arrested, I recall that she was one of the nurses that had cared for the boys whilst at the Countess.
"At first, I was gobsmacked but also relieved that there was finally some form of explanation for the deaths of [babies O and P] and all my issues had not been in vain."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-66551231

 

[cottonweaver]

Ms Rees says in her statement: "Stephen Brearey was measured throughout... I said that if there were issues, then I needed to know what they were.

"Despite that, he refused to give me any more information. He said that he had evidence, but he refused to show it to me."

Ms Rees says she still doesn't understand why Dr Brearey wouldn't provide her with more information.

Lucy Letby: Retired nursing chief says she didn't have enough information to remove baby killer from unit

Karen Rees was the head of nursing in the hospital's urgent care division when concerns were raised about Letby.

news.sky.com

because she "needed more information" ( on 24th May 2016)

Risible statement from head of nursing & 'professional' who oversaw that neonatal unit.
She went to find Brearey on a Friday afternoon but he wasn't there. So what did she do on the Monday morning or did she call him at home that weekend?

This is why it should be a statutory legal inquiry - phone records could be subpoena'd and there'd be no place to hide. The families and Public have a right to get the comms, texts and emails between these negligent managers turned over to the Inquiry

A lot of what Karen Rees is saying is at odds with the timeline Lucy Letby whistleblower says babies would have lived if hospital had acted sooner

 

[Tortoise]

Anyone know if it's going to be viewable outside the UK?

It'll be on you tube.

 

[thatssoamy]

Yes, the sentencing part will be televised

Thank you

 

[Tortoise]

Posted at 11:5311:53

The anger I have towards Letby has destroyed me, says babies' father​

Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
The father of babies O and P has been sobbing throughout the delivery of his statement, which was pre-recorded on video. Many in court are tearful too.
"It is always hard to explain to [triplet 3] that he was a triplet and trying to answer any questions that he may have," says the dad of babies O and P, who both were killed.
"Since the news about Lucy Letby, I have attended several counselling sessions provided by victim support services. I am still classed as ‘long term sick’ and continue to take anti-depressants".
"In the courtroom everything became so real, seeing Lucy Letby for the first time since 2016 was difficult.
"Hearing the evidence unfold was hard as I was discovering latest information about the case that I was unaware of. More so the texts that Letby had sent to her work colleagues and the personal Facebook searches. I thought that these actions were both in poor taste and unnatural, hearing this in open court sent a shiver down my spine."
"Lucy Letby has destroyed our lives. The anger and the hatred I have towards her will never go away. It has destroyed me as a man and as a father. I have missed over six years of our children’s lives because of her actions. Even after the trial has ended, it will continue to haunt us and will always have an impact on our lives."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-66551231

 

[Pinkizzy]

It's awful.

To be honest, I'm just kind of skim reading the impact statements as I find them difficult to process.

I really wish they'd drag her from her cell, though.

What would happen if they dragged her into court and she started screaming, shouting or laughing? She would make the situation a sham. Leave her in the cell imo

 

[Tortoise]

11:47am

The pre-recorded interview is now played from the father of Child O and Child P.
He recalls being "shocked" at the news of triplets.
He says the parents were "both overwhelmed", but the pregnancy progressed well.
The birth was traumatic, but the team were happy with the triplets' health, as they were admitted to the neonatal unit.
The parents were "so excited" to see the boys doing well when they went to see them.
On June 23, "things started to go downill", when he was informed Child O had had a collapse. He said he was thinking the worst, and informed the mother.
He said the moments of seeing Child O die were horrific and something he would never forget. "It felt like a stab in the heart".
"No-one at the hospital had any explanation"
After Child O died, the parents were "extremely concerned". "It was hard to disguise our emotions".
"No-one really knew what to say, it was an awkward silence."
The following morning, the parents were informed Child P was poorly. They were told 'it's happening again'. They "didn't know what was happening", and could see Child P looked worse than before.
"I thought we were going down the same roads we did with [Child O]."
Child P sadly passed away later that afternoon.
"We were pleading with the doctor [at the transport team] to take [the surviving triplet] away with them".
He said it was a terrible situation to be in.
He said they had received no guidance from the Countess in terms of support following the deaths of Child O and Child P.
The father details further problems in the parents' lives took their toll on their mental health.
He said he felt guilty for showing happiness in the surviving triplet's life, that he could not take any joy from it.
He said in the aftermath, he "hit rock bottom". As his life was "slowly improving", news came through of Letby's arrest. He was gobsmacked but relieved there appeared to be some sort of explanation. He said he had believed there was "some form of clinical negligence", but never believed the boys had been "murdered on purpose".
He says he struggles to socialise with friends or family, and finds it difficult to answer the question on how many children he has.
He adds coming to terms with the police investigation has been difficult.
He said he had initially been called as a witness, and seeing Letby for the first time was "extremely difficult".
He said the actions of Letby's text messages and Facebook searches were "in poor taste", and found it difficult to see the mother being "so upset".
"Lucy Letby has destroyed our lives."
He adds the pressure of the trial has been difficult to describe.

11:48am

The judge says "for a number of reasons" he will have a break for the court. He will proceed to sentencing remarks at 12.30pm.

Recap: Sentencing of serial baby killer nurse Lucy Letby

Live updates from court as former Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal nurse Lucy Letby is sentenced for the murder of six babies and the attempted…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Cuko]

Will there be cameras at the sentencing?

Just a TV camera, focused only on the judge.

 

[iamshadow21]

Lucy Letby becomes fourth woman in UK to receive whole-life jail term after murdering seven babies – as it happened

Judge said ‘lifelong harm has been caused in horrific circumstances’ as he addresses empty dock

www.theguardian.com

'It was so distressing. I didn’t know what to say … I felt useless and blamed myself.'​

The father of the two murdered triplets is now reading his statement, via a pre-recorded video.

He remembers being told how rare it was to have naturally-conceived identical triplets. There were risks of complications but, each time they saw professionals, they were told that “everything was perfect”. He says: “Staff told us that their birth was a miracle.”

He remembers the caesarian section being “a terrifying event”, but that the boys were born well with no complications.

I spent a brief bit of time holding the boys. We were so excited at how well they were doing and we commented at how identical they were. It was almost impossible to tell them apart.

The father, choking back tears, describes the first visits of family members and introducing an older son to the boys. Things then started to go downhill. Child O’s deterioration was “horrific to see and an image I will never forget,” he continues. When his son was pronounced dead, he says: “I felt I had been stabbed in the heart.”

No one at the hospital was able to give the parents an explanation. They were told not to worry about their two other triplets. They were taken to a small family room, but no one knew what to say.

A nurse brought Child O into the room minutes after his death and they took photographs for a memory box. He was then taken to the mortuary.

It was so distressing. I didn’t know what to say … I felt useless and blamed myself.

The following morning, the parents were told Child O’s triplet brother Child P had declined.

I was terrified I was going to lose my little boy.

He says it was “very disturbing” to see the resuscitation attempts, and the boys’ mother blamed herself for their decline. Child P was pronounced dead hours later. After that, the parents begged a medical transport team to take the surviving triplet to another hospital.

The father is in tears, struggling now to speak, as he says on the video he was “petrified” something was going to happen to final triplet. He says they never had any support from the hospital or other healthcare professionals.

There was no contact from the Countess whatsoever … this has made us very upset and angry and we never intend to go there again.

The father says he has been signed off work sick by his GP as he had breakdowns and “started having terrible nightmares”.

Everyday life was difficult. Just getting through was a struggle.

On the first anniversary of the children’s deaths, he turned to alcohol. “I couldn’t stop… I became more dependant on the alcohol”. The father, now sobbing, says he once took the car keys and intended to end his life. He was “out of control”: “I was at rock bottom. I had lost my job, [my partner]”, he adds – referring to his separation from the children’s mother.

Life was improving but, in 2018, he was informed Letby had been arrested on suspicion of harming their sons. He says he felt the investigation could show medical negligence, but “it never occurred to me that they were murdered on purpose”.

The father says he tells people he has five children because he can’t forget about his two murdered triplets. He has tried to explained to their brother that a lady is in prison “because she has tried to hurt your brothers”.

The weight of this has been unbearable.

The boys’ father says the evidence in the trial “sent shivers down my spine”.

Lucy Letby has destroyed our lives. The anger and hatred I have for her will never go away. It has destroyed me as a man, as a father. Even after the trial has ended it will continue to haunt us and continue to have an impact on our lives.

 

[Tortoise]

Posted at 11:5611:56

Court adjourns ahead of sentence​

The victim impact statements by parents have now finished.
The judge says he will now have a 45 min break and will pass sentence in about half hour, at 12:30.
Stick with us and we'll bring you the updates as they happen.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-66551231

 

[Tortoise]

Half-hour until sentencing remarks

 

[Taskforce88]

How long was it from suspicions raised that babies were being harmed on the unit until the police were brought in to investigate?

 

[May72031]

Nothing in mitigation according to BM?
Just that she has maintained her innocence throughout.

He could have asked the plumber to put in a good word about LL...

 

[d0lphin]

11:05am

A statement from the mother of Child I is read out by Mr Astbury.
The mother recalls the first collapse of Child I made her "paranoid", and she was told the cause of it was an infection. She said she took extra precautions as nothing was worth the risk of this happening again.
She said the parents had a rota to be with Child I, which was "exhausting". At the second collapse, she had 'begun to relax' as Child I had been improving. The mother said within half an hour of visiting a friend, she got a call to go to the hospital asap.
When she arrived, she was on her own, it was "so scary" having to watch "our tiny girl fighting so hard".
"We kept thinking, why is this still happening?"
The collapses were "getting worse".
Before the third collapse, Child I was 'like a full-term baby' - a "very content little girl", and talked about bringing her home.
At the third collapse, the family were in 'fight or flight' mode. Child I had been unresponsive.
Child I 'suddenly picked up' after being transferred to Arrowe Park. She looked swollen, in a lot of pain, and her eyes looked very sad. She was transferred back to the Countess of Chester Hospital.
The family were told Child I could still be home for Christmas.
The mother said she was informed about another collapse for Child I. She felt uneasy, and went to the hospital. When she arrived, this was 'different', as Child I was not fighting.
"I couldn't look at the monitors as I knew she was worse than the previous times."
"I can't even begin to explain the pain when we lost her - our gorgeous little princess."
The mother said she would wear sunglasses to hide her tears from others in the months afterwards, and felt like she was "sinking into a black hole".
The father "really struggled" in the aftermath, and the impact was felt across other members of the family.
When the police contacted about the investigation, the mother said she thought it was about possible hospital mistakes. Upon being asked to relive the events, this had a big impact on her, and she started therapy for PTSD. She remebered her "whole body shaking" on the news Letby was arrested.
"We dug for years, trying to get answers for what happened...it's impacted so much of our family. To be told what happened to our daughter...I don't think I'll ever get over the fact our daughter was tortured until she had no fight left."

Tortured until she had no fight left, ffs, these statements are heartbreaking

 

[Tortoise]

How long was it from suspicions raised that babies were being harmed on the unit until the police were brought in to investigate?

Just out of interest did you follow the trial? Because this information was relayed many times during the trial.

Opening and closing statements and during the consultants' testimony and Letby's testimony.

 

[thatssoamy]

Did we ever find out if there was any collapses that where the same on days when she wasn't working?

 

[BabaVanga]

Did we ever find out if there was any collapses that where the same on days when she wasn't working?

Yes, there were none.