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

[Legal]

Interesting she asked for an early break and now the trial has been adjourned for the day. Poor jurors.

 

[ColourPurple]

Court ends early with Letby in dock​

Court has temporarily resumed but only so the judge, Mr Justice Goss, can formally adjourn it for the day.
"I have made the decision that we shouldn't continue this afternoon," Justice Goss tells the jury.
Lucy Letby did not return to the witness stand but was back behind the glass-fronted dock.
Court will resume next Wednesday at 10.30am.

Lucy Letby trial: Facebook searches of nurse accused of murdering babies read out in court

Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, has been back in court for another day of cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday. She is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, and denies all the charges.

news.sky.com

 

[Tortoise]

I've just noticed an extra update from chester standard earlier, not sure if it wasn't there before or if I just missed it.

12:06pm

Letby is asked about messages she had exchanged with Minna Lappalainen on June 26 in which she said: "What I have seen has really hit me tonight."
Minna Lappalainen suggests a counsellor for Letby.
LL: "I can't talk about it now, I can't stop crying..."
The reply suggests Letby take time off and consider if she should be at work during this time. Letby replies she has to keep carrying on working after saying "I just have to let it all out".
NJ: "This was a very memorable time of your life, wasn't it?"
LL: "Yes."
Messages between Letby and a colleague are exchanged.
The colleague said there was "something odd" about what had happened.
Letby is asked if 'What do you mean?' was what she really thought, as per her response.
NJ: "Were you worried that people were starting to put two and two together?"
LL: "No."
Letby had messaged: "Odd that we lost 3 in different circumstances?"
Letby tells the court the circumstances were different.
The colleague: "I dunno. Were they that different?
"Ignore me. I'm speculating."
The colleague says there was talk of doing a joint post-mortem for three babies who had died.
Letby searched for the father of Child D on October 3, 2015.
"You didn't really forget [Child D], did you?"
LL: "I didn't recall specific details in interview."
Mr Johnson says Facebook does not archive the name searches beyond a certain number, so every time Letby searched a name, it would be from memory. Letby accepts that.
Letby says Child D "did not have appropriate treatment at the start of her life" and that "may have had an impact" on her later in life.
NJ: "The [lack of antibiotics early on] don't cause an air embolous, do they?"
LL: "No."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, May 19 - cross-examination continues

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

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[grj373]

Change of plea?

 

[DinerMite]

I had a feeling they would finish early for the day after she asked for an earlier break. Could be totally off but I'd bet they're linked somehow.

 

[esther43]

Change of plea?

Wanting to have another look over her police statements that she has copies of?

 

[Cluedoneit]

He’d all but told her that he had evidence of her forging document, it’s likely she needs the weekend to think of an answer. All just my opinion only.

 

[JosieJo]

So genuine question...obviously when a defendant is in the dock for a long time they could become a little unwell....but let's just say someone (hypothetically) was struggling to cope with the cross examination and repeatedly "became unwell" how does a judge deal with that as obviously that's the whole point of cross examination.

 

[la patrick777]

Can she change her mind about taking the stand??

 

[JerseyGirl]

Lucy Letby trial: Nurse denies enjoying aftermath of baby's death

The boy, known as Child C, is one of seven babies that Lucy Letby is alleged to have murdered.

www.bbc.com

 

[ColourPurple]

Can she change her mind about taking the stand??

No

 

[ColourPurple]

Change of plea?

I think if she were planning to do that she'd want to speak to her parents first. If guilty, there's no real benefit to her doing it now, sentence-wise.

JMO

 

[esther43]

Can't find the thread where somebody asked about LL's reference to her teacher, but here it is.

"The note 'started off as a work-based role' note, with words of 'handover', 'audit', 'workforce', 'scheduling', 'timeframe'.

A close-up of the bottom-left corner is shown, with writing in different directions.

Words include 'Bombay' [written several times] - Letby's pub quiz team name. A colleague's name is written - 'people who were important to me'. A name of Letby's high school teacher is also written"

 

[ColourPurple]

Can't find the thread where somebody asked about LL's reference to her teacher, but here it is.

"The note 'started off as a work-based role' note, with words of 'handover', 'audit', 'workforce', 'scheduling', 'timeframe'.

A close-up of the bottom-left corner is shown, with writing in different directions.

Words include 'Bombay' [written several times] - Letby's pub quiz team name. A colleague's name is written - 'people who were important to me'. A name of Letby's high school teacher is also written"

The use of "were important" rather than "are important" is interesting IMO

 

[Tortoise]

Genuine question, (and I am not trying to be antagonistic or argumentative, I am just genuinely curious), but are there any charges or parts of the prosecution’s evidence which you think are weak? And do you think the defence has made any strong points so far?

I would say I don't know enough about the case of baby H, probably due to reporting, to be able to understand the sequence fully and make an opinion on the strength of the evidence.

I'm not convinced it was LL holding the phone to the doctor's ear in the case of baby D. But that could just be due to reporting.

I'm struggling to think of anything the defence has achieved as regards the medical evidence.

MOO

 

[Tortoise]

3:32pm

That concludes our coverage from today.
The Standard will be back at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday, May 24, for further live coverage throughout the day as Lucy Letby's cross-examination is expected to resume.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, May 19 - cross-examination continues

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

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-65602988

Posted at 14:5514:55

Jury told hearing will not continue for rest of today​

Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
We are now back in court, but Lucy Letby is in the dock, rather than being in the witness box. The jury has just come back in.
The judge, Mr Justice Goss, apologises to them for the delay. He tells them that for reasons with which they should not concern themselves, we are not going to continue with the hearing for the rest of today.
He tells the jury that they will not be needed back at court until it's next scheduled to sit on Wednesday next week.
He reminds them not to research the case themselves, away from the evidence they hear at court.
That is the end of proceedings for today. The trial will continue next Wednesday.

Posted at 14:5914:59

What did we find out today?​

Gem O'Reilly
Live Reporter
As you've just seen, the court proceedings have ended for today. We've been reporting all morning on the case from inside the court, so here's a summary of what we heard:

• Nick Johnson KC, who is the lead prosecutor in the case, cross-examined Lucy Letby with questions relating to baby C and baby D, who she is accused of murdering
• Johnson asked Letby about baby C's decline and if she "enjoyed" the aftermath, which she denied
• He then asked Letby about the condition of baby D and a rash on the baby and the text messages that she sent the morning after the infant died
• The court was shown WhatsApp messages between Letby and another nurse, where that nurse pointed out that the sudden death of three babies was "unusual"
• Letby denies all the charges against her, and will resume her third day of cross-examination when the court reconvenes

 

[GoodDayToYouSir]

So genuine question...obviously when a defendant is in the dock for a long time they could become a little unwell....but let's just say someone (hypothetically) was struggling to cope with the cross examination and repeatedly "became unwell" how does a judge deal with that as obviously that's the whole point of cross examination.

If there was doubt as to whether the illness was genuine, I imagine the defendant could be held in contempt of court if they kept refusing to resume testimony .

If we are talking full on mental breakdown meaning that they are now unfit to stand trial , I think the judge then sends them off to inpatient psychiatric hospital for treatment until such time as they are better .

 

[esther43]

The use of "were important" rather than "are important" is interesting IMO

If this school teacher is then bought to the stand then it may show that LL is illustrating some level of thinking ahead. Why were these people important to LL and what is their relevance to this investigation would be my question.
It's not as though the notes in question were relating to anything other than LLs thought process surrounding a particular set of events.

 

[Googysleuth]

In a case where so many of the allegations are challenging to directly prove, the forgery of a document to create an alibi comes close (but not quite) to a smoking gun. I wonder how the prosecution feels they can prove something like a medical document forgery. Perhaps a handwriting expert? It's difficult not to let your imagination run away with you... A scary moment for LL if guilty as it is sign the net is closing in. Reasonable doubt being removed for just one of these allegations could be enough for her to be sentenced for life. It would be enough to make you feel unwell in the witness box...
MOO