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

[Dotta]

I don't expect any fireworks during Defence Closing Speech.
I guess it will be short and not so sweet.
The shredder might listen to it carefully but not me.

Im off to the last day of school.
See you later folks

 

[Kemug]

We have mentioned previously that LL and her parents seem very close, and that she seems to feel dutybound not to move too far away from them (eg saying that she couldn't move to New Zealand.) But - what if it is sort of the other way around? What if her parents have always known that there is something wrong with their daughter? And have always felt the need to "keep an eye on her" and keep her close? Just an idea. JMO

 

[Cardgame]

Re. that list of patterns/connections between collapses:

V interesting that none of the collapses happened as LL departed from her shift. There was one incident (N?) of her (allegedly) interfering with the child in order to set the scene for her attack the next morning, but it seems (if guilty) that she wanted to make sure she was always around for the aftermath.

 

[Kemug]

"
The barrister then told the jury: 'If anyone tries to tell you there are no similarities in this case, you've got a list now'.

None of the babies can be identified for legal reasons, but Mr Johnson named each of the alleged murder victims as he listed those who would all have gone home from the Countess of Chester Hospital had Letby 'not sabotaged them'.

He then read out the names of the other 10 babies Letby is accused of trying to murder.

In his final words to the jury, he said: 'That is our case, and you'll let us know if it's right'."


Reading The Prosecution closing words was the first time in all these months I became properly emotional...hearing the babies full names being read out like that at the end must have been very powerful for the Jury

I imagine that NJ is feeling even more drained than we are. I hope he has a week on some remote island lined up.

 

[Legal]

I find it hard to believe that her "superior personality" (to quote Tortoise), her not thinking that rules applied to her, her disconnect with others feelings, her probable psychopathy, her rage at not getting the recognition and rewards that she felt she deserved - I find it hard to believe that these attributes only appeared in the years she was at the Countess of Chester Hospital. I believe there must have been prior incidents of some sort, even if not actual murders. I wonder if there are people who are now remembering things that they didn't particularly notice at the time, and are now seeing them with fresh eyes? I will be very surprised if nothing further comes to light. JMO MOO etc.

It's interesting because when you look at the messages she sent to the doctor, compared to those to her friends, they seem so fake IMO. The ones to the friends feel a lot more genuine, like when she's slagging off the other nurses and moaning about not being allowed to do what she wants. The ones to the doctor that stood out to me as contrived include the one where she had apologised for being short with him after the meltdown (I'm sorry, that was rude) and all the guff about Cockington (oh, Cockington is gorgeous!). Also the one about how she was serious Lucy today, as she had her hair in a bun. I doubt she would message her friends in that way. IMO it feels like she's trying really hard with the doctor and putting on an act to gain something - his approval? trust? confidence? It's possible this is part of her "nice Lucy" persona.

Also, in a case of coincidence after coincidence, I still can't get over the fact that the poster child for the NNU is on trial for murdering babies under her care. I'm sure there must be some sort of link; either she sought out that role to feed her narcissistic tendencies (if guilty and a narcissist) or it fuelled her sense of superiority and she hated being an ordinary nurse again after being in the limelight. All JMO.

ETA I just did a quick google to see when the fundraising picture was taken and found a newspaper article from 6 August 2015 with LL in the picture about this fundraiser. I'm going to share the link, hope that's ok. I hadn't seen it before but it's from the Chester Standard and if guilty, would have appeared in the paper after she had allegedly started her killing spree.

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/media/121105/6th-august-2015.pdf

 

[Anxala]

Whew, I'm relieved that's over; that was a very heavy closing statement. (Not sure "heavy" is the right word, just, hard to read, weighty, powerful...) I'll be interested to see what the defence closing statement can come up with, but I don't really see how they can counter that - I wonder how long it'll be? Not very, I think, although he may surprise me.

Glad to see all the similarities brought together so clearly, the weight of them all together will be compelling I think. NJ has done a great job of bringing things together, including a lot of minor details I hadn't realised the significance of until he made it so clear. Time will tell if BM can shake things up again, but I'm not sure he can based on what we've seen of the defence case so far, there just doesn't seem to be much available to him.

(No longer on the fence but kinda wishing I was back up there as I still don't want to believe what the evidence has told me...)

As a fence sitter, the reasons for me not wanting LL to be guilty were/are twofold: first, just not wanting to believe that anyone could do what she's accused of doing, and second, for the parents whose babies died to not have to re-process the loss they've already experienced. Losing a baby as a result of medical complications is tragic enough: for them to now have to consider and come to terms with the raw horror - if LL is guilty - that not alone did their babies die unnecessarily but were also subject to deliberate harm and pain before their deaths is just... well, it's just too painful to imagine, let alone experience.

NJ and his team did a remarkable job here. The detective work in bringing all the complex strands together was masterful and really brought home the painstaking amount of work involved to bring this case to trial.

 

[Marantz4250b]

It's interesting because when you look at the messages she sent to the doctor, compared to those to her friends, they seem so fake IMO. The ones to the friends feel a lot more genuine, like when she's slagging off the other nurses and moaning about not being allowed to do what she wants. The ones to the doctor that stood out to me as contrived include the one where she had apologised for being short with him after the meltdown (I'm sorry, that was rude) and all the guff about Cockington (oh, Cockington is gorgeous!). Also the one about how she was serious Lucy today, as she had her hair in a bun. I doubt she would message her friends in that way. IMO it feels like she's trying really hard with the doctor and putting on an act to gain something - his approval? trust? confidence? It's possible this is part of her "nice Lucy" persona.

Also, in a case of coincidence after coincidence, I still can't get over the fact that the poster child for the NNU is on trial for murdering babies under her care. I'm sure there must be some sort of link; either she sought out that role to feed her narcissistic tendencies (if guilty and a narcissist) or it fuelled her sense of superiority and she hated being an ordinary nurse again after being in the limelight. All JMO.

ETA I just did a quick google to see when the fundraising picture was taken and found a newspaper article from 6 August 2015 with LL in the picture about this fundraiser. I'm going to share the link, hope that's ok. I hadn't seen it before but it's from the Chester Standard and if guilty, would have appeared in the paper after she had allegedly started her killing spree.

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/media/121105/6th-august-2015.pdf

I'd seen that article before. Hadn't realised the significance of the date.

 

[Legal]

I'd seen that article before. Hadn't realised the significance of the date.

I've just checked and the 4th August was when she allegedly murdered child E. She is accused of attempting to murder child F on the 5th August. The newspaper article was in the paper dated 6th August 2015.

 

[Kemug]

I don't think texting to friends will be a problem for LL any more - not only is a cellphone required, but also friends.

 

[Tortoise]

"Letby submitted a clinical incident report stating that on June 30, 2016 she noticed a bung had been left off the port of an intravenous line, which could accidentally let air in.

The shift was her last on the unit before she was moved to clerical duties [...]

[...] prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said: “It is Lucy Letby, we say, getting her defence in first. She knew the net was closing.

“Text messages showed she knew there was going to be an investigation.

“She put in a form that contained a lie and the purpose of putting this in is to create the impression that air embolism could have arisen on the unit as a result of poor practice.

“It is a calculated attempt by a devious woman to deflect suspicion.”

Mr Johnson told jurors they could be sure the report timed at 3pm was false because Letby would have started her shift at 8am and any nurse doing their job properly would not take that long to spot the issue."

‘Devious’ Lucy Letby tried to deflect suspicion 'as net was closing', court told

“Devious” nurse Lucy Letby tried to deflect suspicion from herself as “the net was closing”, her trial has heard.

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

8:06am

The defence, led by Benjamin Myers KC, is expected to deliver its closing speech today on behalf of Lucy Letby.

LIVE: Lucy Letby trial, June 23 - defence closing speech

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]

Re. that list of patterns/connections between collapses:

V interesting that none of the collapses happened as LL departed from her shift. There was one incident (N?) of her (allegedly) interfering with the child in order to set the scene for her attack the next morning, but it seems (if guilty) that she wanted to make sure she was always around for the aftermath.

I think there were more than a couple where she is alleged to have destabilised the baby before finishing her shift, N and P, and I wonder if J and K could be considered other instances at around 7am on her nightshifts, but the other cases where this would also be true would be the alleged insulin poisonings of F and L.

I don't think there was a list of this category that we heard about in the reporting, but maybe we didn't get to hear them all.

 

[ColourPurple]

"Letby submitted a clinical incident report stating that on June 30, 2016 she noticed a bung had been left off the port of an intravenous line, which could accidentally let air in.

The shift was her last on the unit before she was moved to clerical duties [...]

[...] prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said: “It is Lucy Letby, we say, getting her defence in first. She knew the net was closing.

“Text messages showed she knew there was going to be an investigation.

“She put in a form that contained a lie and the purpose of putting this in is to create the impression that air embolism could have arisen on the unit as a result of poor practice.

“It is a calculated attempt by a devious woman to deflect suspicion.”

Mr Johnson told jurors they could be sure the report timed at 3pm was false because Letby would have started her shift at 8am and any nurse doing their job properly would not take that long to spot the issue."

‘Devious’ Lucy Letby tried to deflect suspicion 'as net was closing', court told

“Devious” nurse Lucy Letby tried to deflect suspicion from herself as “the net was closing”, her trial has heard.

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

And at some point she must have realised that it wasn't even a feasible way for an air embolism to have arisen, as "missing bung" never formed part of her defence.

 

[Tortoise]

10:33am

The judge has told the jury one of the jurors is unwell, so there will not be a hearing today.

LIVE: Lucy Letby trial, June 23 - defence closing speech

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]

Today is the anniversary of the day baby O died, and tomorrow of his brother, baby P.

 

[CS2C]

Not Again !

 

[Tortoise]

Not Again !

Look on the bright side, at least it didn't happen midway through the prosecution's closing, interrupting the flow and continuity. Let's hope the juror recovers for Monday.

Mr Myers gets to sweat over his speech for a bit longer.

 

[Tortoise]

10:37am

Mr Myers' speech is now due to begin on Monday.

LIVE: Lucy Letby trial, June 23 - defence closing speech

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

 

[IDK]

"Letby submitted a clinical incident report stating that on June 30, 2016 she noticed a bung had been left off the port of an intravenous line, which could accidentally let air in.

The shift was her last on the unit before she was moved to clerical duties [...]

[...] prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said: “It is Lucy Letby, we say, getting her defence in first. She knew the net was closing.

“Text messages showed she knew there was going to be an investigation.

“She put in a form that contained a lie and the purpose of putting this in is to create the impression that air embolism could have arisen on the unit as a result of poor practice.

“It is a calculated attempt by a devious woman to deflect suspicion.”

Mr Johnson told jurors they could be sure the report timed at 3pm was false because Letby would have started her shift at 8am and any nurse doing their job properly would not take that long to spot the issue."

‘Devious’ Lucy Letby tried to deflect suspicion 'as net was closing', court told

“Devious” nurse Lucy Letby tried to deflect suspicion from herself as “the net was closing”, her trial has heard.

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

I think I must have missed something here. What evidence does NJ have that LL lied about the missing plug? I agree it looks like she is possibly trying to cover her tracks, if guilty, but it is also possible the cover really was missing from a baby’s IV line. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened in an ICU.

What looks bad to me, would be if this was the first time she reported an incident like this. Then the timing would seem suspicious. IMO, and if guilty.

 

[ColourPurple]

Today is the anniversary of the day baby O died, and tomorrow of his brother, baby P.

In which case I'm glad its not on today and by the time they're back next week no court days will coincide with the anniversary of a baby's death or the alleged attack on them.