UK - Nurse Lucy Letby, Faces 22 Charges - 7 Murder/15 Attempted Murder of Babies #23

[Dcflag]

Dan O'Donoghue
@MrDanDonoghue
·
7m

Mr Johnson says this was another shift on which Ms Letby 'wanted to be in nursery one', she says 'no'

Dan O'Donoghue
@MrDanDonoghue
·
5m

Mr Johnson is going over the neonatal review (who was working on unit), Ms Letby spots a nurse on there that was not working night shift but day shift - Mr Johnson says 'yes', then says 'do you have an eye for detail', she says 'yes'

I wonder if that was intentional? To see if she picked up the detail?

 

[marynnu]

What is this from Chester Standard reporting?? I have no recollection of it previously. Surely an error.

"Dr. Neame, in evidence, said "ETT removed by nursing staff" and that nurse was Letby, alone."

 

[katydid23]

What is this from Chester Standard reporting?? I have no recollection of it previously. Surely an error.

"Dr. Neame, in evidence, said "ETT removed by nursing staff" and that nurse was Letby, alone."

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue

Mr Johnson asks Ms Letby if she was involved in an event on 26 September at around 21:15, Child H had a desaturation A doctor on shift, Dr Neame, has previously said in evidence that when he arrived Ms Letby was treating Child H. She says she does not remember

Mr Johnson pulls up a text message, Ms Letby sent to a colleague on that shift, saying she had 'been helping' Child H's designated nurse. Ms Letby agrees this would have been in reference to her helping with Child H

Jury back in after a short break. Mr Johnson is continuing to deal with the events of 26 September

Mr Johnson puts it to Ms Letby, that as she wasn't Child H's designated nurse that night, did she see that as an 'opportunity to sabotage' her because she was 'not connected with her on the paperwork'. Ms Letby says 'no'

Mr Johnson says Child H had a desaturation shortly before 10pm as a result of Ms Lebty 'interfering' with her ET tube - she rejects this

 

[Lammergeier]

It must be terribly strange for her parents watching her performance. I wonder if they have a different read of her behaviour or whether the “it wasn’t me, I don’t remember, it was someone else’s fault, everyone else has it wrong, nobody around me was competent” routine is familiar to them.

 

[Tortoise]

Sorry my internet went down so I went off to do some other stuff.

 

[Tortoise]

11:43am

Letby is asked if she was involved in an event timed 9.15pm for Child H, who had a desaturation and bradycardia. Letby said she did not remember.
Dr Neame, in evidence, said "ETT removed by nursing staff" and that nurse was Letby, alone.
LL: "Well I don't have any recollection of that."
A text is shown from Letby to a colleague at 9.51pm: "'I've been helping Shelley so least still involved but haven't got the responsibility..."
Letby says she "does not agree" she would have removed an ET Tube by herself.
The neonatal schedule shown for 9-10pm shows no duties for Child H for which Letby has been named as the nurse for it.

12:06pm

The trial is now resuming following a short break and a short legal discussion.
Mr Johnson is continuing to cross-examine Lucy Letby on the case of Child H.

12:07pm

Letby is asked about what she had been helping Shelley with, as per her text message - she says she had been helping with Child H.
She denies taking an "opportunity" to "sabotage" Child H.

12:10pm

Nurse Shelley Tomlins' note for 9.45pm is shown:
The court is shown nurse Tomlin's notes for that shift, which include: '...around 2030 [Child H] had profound desat and brady, air entry no longer heard and capnography negative therefore ETT removed and Drs crashbleeped. New ETT sited...on second attempt...Copious secretions obtained via ETT and orally, blood stained.'
'2145 - Desaturation to 40% despite good air entry and positive capnography. ETT suctioned quickly with thick blood-stained secretions noted. [Child H] recovered quickly after...'
Letby denies altering Child H's ET Tube to cause bleeding.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, May 25 - 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]

37m ago11:44

The second night shift where Child H collapsed​

The court is shown a series of messages Letby sent to colleagues the following day, during her second night shift with Child H - a baby girl she is accused of attempting to murder.
The prosecution claims Letby sabotaged Child H again on this night shift. She was not her designated nurse.
Letby has previously claimed she did not have much to do with Child H on this shift.
The first one read '[Child H] had good day' before going on to mention the infant's drain being taken out.
A second message reads: 'She's had a stable day. Took original drain out at 8, just blocked tube, loads of secretions!'
Letby denies staffing levels contributed to Child H's collapse. She is then asked if medical incompetence played a part.
"I can't comment because I wasn't the nurse looking after her that night," she says.
Mr Johnson, prosecution barrister, says this is "another shift where you wanted to be in nursery one".
(The prosecution has repeatedly claimed Letby wanted to be in the higher dependency rooms and felt slighted when she was required to look after babies in lower rooms).
"No," says Letby.

https://news.sky.com/story/lucy-let...ws-blog-12868375?postid=5960586#liveblog-body
30m ago11:51

'At least I'm still involved': Letby's texts to colleague​

A doctor has previously said that during the night shift of 26 September, he saw Letby alone and caring for Child H. The infant would collapse a few hours later and require ambulance transport to another hospital.
Letby has previously claimed she had little to do with the infant during this night shift, as she was caring for other babies in a different room.
The court is then shown a text Letby sent during the shift.
The text reads: 'I've been helping [colleague] so least still involved but haven't got the responsibility.'
"Anything that went wrong wasn't going to come back on you, was it?" Nick Johnson says.
"No," says Letby.

6m ago12:15

Letby accused of taking opportunity to sabotage infant under colleague's care​

Nick Johnson KC, the prosecution barrister, is now returning to the text the court was shown just before the break.
In it, Letby talks about what she was doing on the night shift of 26 September 2015, before Child H collapsed for the second time.
Letby was not the designated nurse on this shift, and had previously said she had little involvement with her.
The text reads: "I've been helping [colleague] so least still involved but haven't got the responsibility."
She is asked what she meant by this.
"I had been helping [colleague] with [Child H] and I had been involved but hadn't got the responsibility," Letby says.
Mr Johnson asks if she used the opportunity to "sabotage" Child H because they were "not connected" via the neonatal unit's paperwork.
"No," says Letby.

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

 

[MachinaCollecta]

It must be terribly strange for her parents watching her performance. I wonder if they have a different read of her behaviour or whether the “it wasn’t me, I don’t remember, it was someone else’s fault, everyone else has it wrong, nobody around me was competent” routine is familiar to them.

I can’t begin to imagine the level of pain they’re all feeling.

 

[katydid23]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue

Mr Johnson asks Ms Letby if she was 'bored' on her shift at 0045 that morning - she says no. He pulls up Facebook data which shows she was liking pictures of friends on there at that time, she says she may have been on her break at this time

Mr Johnson again accuses Ms Letby of sabotaging Child H - he says she waited until after her father had gone to get some sleep on the parents section of the ward. She says 'no, I've never attacked a child'

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
28m

Mr Johnson asks Ms Letby if she was involved in an event on 26 September at around 21:15, Child H had a desaturation A doctor on shift, Dr Neame, has previously said in evidence that when he arrived Ms Letby was treating Child H. She says she does not remember

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
27m

Mr Johnson pulls up a text message, Ms Letby sent to a colleague on that shift, saying she had 'been helping' Child H's designated nurse. Ms Letby agrees this would have been in reference to her helping with Child H

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
17m

Jury back in after a short break. Mr Johnson is continuing to deal with the events of 26 September

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
15m

Mr Johnson puts it to Ms Letby, that as she wasn't Child H's designated nurse that night, did she see that as an 'opportunity to sabotage' her because she was 'not connected with her on the paperwork'. Ms Letby says 'no'

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
12m

Mr Johnson says Child H had a desaturation shortly before 10pm as a result of Ms Lebty 'interfering' with her ET tube - she rejects this

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
8m

Mr Johnson asks Ms Letby if she was 'bored' on her shift at 0045 that morning - she says no. He pulls up Facebook data which shows she was liking pictures of friends on there at that time, she says she may have been on her break at this time

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
6m

Mr Johnson again accuses Ms Letby of sabotaging Child H - he says she waited until after her father had gone to get some sleep on the parents section of the ward. She says 'no, I've never attacked a child'

 

[Tortoise]

Sorry @katydid23 I'll leave Dan's tweets to you. thank you for stepping in.

 

[Tortoise]

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
14m

The night after the first collapse, baby H collapsed for a second time. This time, Lucy Letby wasn't the 'designated (lead) nurse' for the baby. Nick Johnson KC asks "Was that your opportunity to sabotage baby H, because you were not connected with her in the paperwork ?"
LL "No"

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
5m

Nick Johnson KC: "Yet again this was an incident which happened just after the baby's parents had left. (It) gave you the opportunity to sabotage baby H didn’t it?"
Lucy Letby: "No" (1/2)

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
4m

(2/2) Nick Johnson KC: "Just as with (many other) babies. All cases where the children deteriorated just after the parents left. Is that something that you identified as an opportunity to attack children?"
Lucy Letby: "No I’ve never attacked any child"

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
54s

Nick Johnson KC: "Why is it always you that ends up back in nursery 1 (intensive care) when something happens?"
Lucy Letby: "I don’t agree that it is always me"
NJKC: "You tried to kill baby H twice didn’t you?"
LL: "No"

 

[Tortoise]

12:21pm

Mr Johnson asks if Letby was "bored" with the children she was looking after in room 2 prior to Child H's collapse.
LL: "No."
She denies she had "time on her hands".
At 12.45am on September 27, Letby is recorded as 'liking' a post on Facebook. At 12.46am, she liked a Facebook photo posted by a colleague.
Letby says she may have been on her break at this point.
Mr Johnson says Letby was involved in a fluid balance chart for one of her designated babies around that time. Letby: "Yes, at 1am."
Child H's father's statement is read to the court, in which he said "Quite late on [Saturday, September 26]" he went to rest, and was woken up shortly afterwards and to get to Child H's bedside.
Letby denies using the time the father was away as an "opportunity" to attack Child H.
LL: "No, I've never attacked any child."
Letby says she "couldn't say" if she was covering for Shelley Tomlins at 1am.
An observation chart is shown for Child H for September 26-27. Hourly observations are made between 8pm and 4am, except for 1am.
Crash call bleep data is made at 1.04am and 1.06am for Child H.
Mr Johnson says Dr Neame gave evidence to say when he arrived, Letby was present.
NJ: "Is that right?"
LL: "I can't say, from memory."
NJ: "You were there, weren't you?"
LL: "I can't say exactly where I was, from memory."
Letby denies making an "alibi" at 1am for the fluid balance chart for her designated baby.
LL: "That's me giving cares to the baby I was allocated."

12:23pm

Nurse Shelley Tomlins' record, written at 3.49am, for the 3.30am desaturation: '0330 - profound desaturation to 60s, again requiring neopuffing with no known cause for desat....copious amounts of secretions yielded orally, pink tinged. Small amount of ET secretions gained, again pink tinged. Heart rate mainly nomral during desat. Recovered slowly.'
Letby denies "interfering with [Child H's] ET Tube".

12:25pm

Letby says she is helping Shelley Tomlins after the desaturation.
NJ: "Why is it always you that ends up in nursery room 1?"
LL: "I don't agree it is always me."

12:26pm

Mr Johnson moves on to the case of Child I.
Letby agrees she remembers Child I "very well".
Mr Johnson says this is "another case where you falsified [her records]."

12:32pm

Letby is asked to look at her defence statement. She said Child I's stomach "bloated...regularly" and "all the nursing staff" were aware of it.
Letby said "nothing was ever done" about the concerns with Child I's bowel. Letby said she was one of those raising concerns, that she "was not getting the treatment she needed".
The defence statement adds Letby did recall one handover, to nurse Bernadette Butterworth, that Child I desaturated and became apnoeic, and she assisted in care thereafter.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, May 25 - 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]

6m ago12:28

Letby's Facebook activity shown to the court​

The prosecution claims Letby wanted to be in the higher dependency rooms and found it boring to look after children who required less specialised care.
On the night shift of 26 September 2015, she was looking after other children in a different room than Child H.
"Were you bored with the children that you were looking after in nursery two?" Mr Johnson asks.
"No," says Letby.
"Did you have time on your hands?"
"No," says Letby.
The court is then shown Letby's Facebook activity from that evening.
00:45: Lucy Letby likes [person's] post.
Letby says she cannot recall who this person is.
"Someone you don't even know very well?" Mr Johnson asks.
"Yes," says Letby.
"You were looking at their facebook account?"
"Yes," says Letby.
"On your phone?"
"Yes," says Letby.
A second image is shown to the court.
00:46: Lucy Letby likes [colleague's] photo.
"I may have been on my break at this point," says Letby.
But the neonatal review shows she was doing observations for another child at 1am, the prosecution says.

4m ago12:29

'I have never attacked any child,' says Letby​

The court is now being read a statement from Child H's father, previously given in evidence during this trial. He had left Child H's bedside on the evening of 26 September before she suddenly deteriorated.
'She was okay during the Saturday day and then quite late on I remember going to the parents' bedroom on the ward to get some sleep.'
Child H's father previously said there was a knock on the door a "short while later" and they were told Child H was deteriorating and to go to her bedside.
Nick Johnson KC, prosecuting, says there is a pattern of children being attacked after their parents left then.
Letby disputes this.
"I have never attacked any child," she says.
At 3.30am, the infant suddenly desaturated - Letby's colleague wrote in her medical notes there was "no known cause".

4m ago12:30

'Why is it always you?'​

"Why is it always you that ends up back in nursery one when something happens?" Nick Johnson, the prosecution barrister, asks Letby.
"I don't agree that it is always me," she says.
"You tried to kill Child H twice, didn't you?"
"No," says Letby.
Mr Johnson now moves onto the case of Child I.

3m ago12:31

Recap: Who is Child I?​

Child I is a baby girl who died - Letby faces one count of her murder. The prosecution claims Letby tried to kill the infant girl four times "before succeeding".
Incident one: 30 September 2015
Incident two: Night shift of 12-13 October 2015
Incident three: Night shift of 13-14 October 2015
Incident four: Night shift of 22-23 October
A "massive amount of gas" was found in her stomach and bowel and a coroner ruled the previous incidents had left her brain damaged.
An independent medical expert concluded the "constellation of findings would strongly indicate that Child I died due to unnatural causes, having been submitted to repeated, separate episodes of excessive injection/infusion of air into her stomach and intestines".
Letby later sent the parents a sympathy card.

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]

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
6m

Nick Johnson KC begins to ask Lucy Letby about the next baby, known as baby I, a girl who died in October 2015.

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
5m

The prosecution has previously said that baby I's case "is an extreme example even by the standards of this case. There were 4 separate occasions on which we allege Lucy Letby tried to kill her. She was resilient, but ultimately at the 4th attempt Lucy Letby succeeded"

 

[Sundial]

IMO LL has started off slightly cocky-
She is then asked about the help her colleague gave her.
"I can't remember every detail and I think it would be unrealistic if I could remember every detail," she tells the court.

Yes it’s unrealistic if you’d remember every detail, but it’s also unrealistic to be adamant there was a SHO present at the time of baby H’s collapse when you admit you ‘cannot recall every detail’ and when there is no note of one being there, no evidence of one being present atall. That is also unrealistic IMO.

Strange statement to make, almost makes it sound like she’s trying to appear ‘realistic’…..

MOO

Playing catch up so not sure if anyone has mentioned already; but wasn’t Dr A Ventress her friend and the whole New Zealand thing? Im sure there were text conversations about this same baby and it appeared a little odd what ll was saying in comparison to the event on the actual shift.

Im also wondering if dr V was also the one she claims kept going out for a cigarette maybe. Interesting how the gang is slowly expanding in its members.

JMO

 

[katydid23]

Dan O'Donoghue
@MrDanDonoghue
·
6m

We're now moving to Child I - a baby girl who was born prematurely at Liverpool Women's Hospital and transferred to the Countess of Chester on 18 August 2015. On 30 September, she needed emergency attention after she vomited and her heart-rate dropped.

She collapsed again on 13 and 14 October, before a fatal deterioration on 23 October. A medical expert for the prosecution told the court she had been "been subjected to an infusion of air", which prosecutors said Ms Letby had administered

Mr Johnson, as he has done with every child, asks Ms Letby if staffing levels contributed to Child I's first collapse - she says no, asks if medical competence played a role, she says no

Mr Johnson asks if on 30 September there was anything of concern with Child I. Ms Letby says 'maybe some concern about temperature…I don’t recall any specific concerns no'

 

[Kemug]

I can’t begin to imagine the level of pain they’re all feeling.

If I was LL's parent, I think the only way I could cope would be to believe 100% in her innocence. IMO

 

[MachinaCollecta]

Child I is going to be an emotionally difficult one. Not looking forward to the details of it being presented again.

 

[MachinaCollecta]

If I was LL's parent, I think the only way I could cope would be to believe 100% in her innocence.

I was referring more to the parents of the babies and having to go through this, but I’d imagine for LL’s parents that would be absolutely all they’ll be doing. To believe otherwise is to face absolute darkness.