UK - Nurse Lucy Letby Faces 22 Charges - 7 Murder/15 Attempted Murder of Babies #6

[LadyEdgeworth]

8:59am

Last Friday saw the prosecution finish its evidence, for now, on the case of Child D, a baby girl, who they say was murdered by Lucy Letby in June 2015.
Today, the prosecution have said they will now give evidence on the twin boys, Child E and Child F.

9:02am

During the prosecution opening, Nicholas Johnson KC said the twins' mother saw Lucy Letby 'attacking' Child E on the night of August 3. Child E died a few hours later on August 4.

9:05am

The prosecution say Lucy Letby attempted to murder Child F by insulin poisoning on August 5.
Letby denies all the charges.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

Yes. You can explain away and make up excuses for a child or two, but the 'unexpected' fatal collapses stack up until there is no other explanation, other than a serial killer. JMO

I think these insulin ones are really going to be key, like you say air embolisms you could mount a defence of negligence/accidental/other causes which clearly they've tried. But insulin realistically means SOMEONE did these on purpose, so if not LL then who?

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

10:33am

The judge, Mr Justice James Goss, has entered the court.

10:33am

Members of the jury have now arrived in court, and the trial will resume.

10:34am

The mother of Child E and F is now giving eviden

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

10:37am

She confirms she gave birth to identical twins in July 29, 2015 at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
She had been expected to give birth in Liverpool Women's Hospital, but due to capacity reasons she was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital.

10:37am

She believed the twins were in 'good condition for the gestation they were in' at birth.

10:38am

She said she had physical contact with the twins a few hours after giving birth to them, in the neonatal unit.
She says she was only able to spend "a few minutes" with them due to their respective conditions.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

10:41am

On July 30, she tells the court she was able to visit the twins in the neonatal unit, from upstairs in the post-natal wards.
She said that would take about 5-10 minutes to get from one place to the other, due to having had a C-section, which made the journey time longer.
She said she was able to cuddle Child E as he wasn't on CPAP, while Child F was on CPAP.

10:44am

She says she had decided she wanted to feed the twins her breast milk, and was helped to express that, and in the meantime had agreed to donor milk, but was able to provide her breast milk in due course as, she said: "That was very important to me."

10:45am

She confirms she expressed breast milk and dropped that off at the neonatal unit that day.
She said: "It was the only thing I could do for them at that point. It was important to me. It was non-negotiable."
She confirms she was given support by nursing staff to do this.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

10:48am

She said Child E was progressing better, of the two twins, over July 30-31, but both were doing "really well" by August 1.
She says she was keen to get home and was keen to transport both babies to a hospital closer to home, and was waiting for two ambulances to be provided.
She said she and her partner were under the impression both babies were well enough to travel.
By that stage, she had had skin-to-ckin contact with both twins, and both were managing "fine".
"We were never informed about anything to say they weren't fine."

10:49am

By August 2, the couple were still waiting for transport.
She said on that day, the twins were both out of their incubators by this stage.
Child E was breathing "easily" and Child F was "great".

10:49am

She says she does not remember any specific conversation about insulin production for the twins, but remembers it being mentioned, and that it was 'normal' for premature babies.

10:50am

By August 3, she said the twins were "great - doing really well".
"We were absolutely thrilled that both boys were doing so well and we couldn't have asked for any more than that. They were both progressing."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

10:53am

The father was commuting to and from the hospital at this time, and on August 3 he had gone home to "prepare the house" as it was "imminent" that the babies were going to be transferred to another hospital and she would be able to go home.
She said he left the hospital at about 5pm. At that time, she was "having skin-to-skin contact" with Child E, which ended at "half past 6ish".
She changed his nappy and had cleaned him, around the eyes and neck.

10:53am

She said she was still "sore and sensitive" but "over the moon" as her two boys were "perfect".

10:55am

She said she went up to the post-natal ward to express breast milk and have something to eat, 'between 7pm and 8.30pm'.
She then took the expressed breast milk "straight down" to the neonatal unit where her twins were.
She said she arrived there "a touch before nine o'clock."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

10:58am

The mother had drawn a plan of the neonatal unit layout, as she remembered it, to police. That is now shown to the court.

11:00am

She tells the court she had gone into room 1, where the twins were, as was Lucy Letby, the only other adult in the room beside the mum.
She said she could her her son crying and it was "like nothing I'd ever heard before".
The mum walked to the incubator, to see blood coming out of Child E's mouth, and panicked as she "believed that something was wrong"

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

11:09am

Lucy Letby was at the workstation at the time, the mum tells the court.
A video of the neonatal unit room one is shown to the court.
The mum, fighting back tears, tells the court which incubators her twins were located in - both in adjoining ones.
She said she heard "crying" - a sound which "shouldn't have come from a tiny baby. I can't explain what that sound was...horrendous. It was screaming more than crying."
She said she heard it in the corridor in the unit itself, and entered the unit through the door where the twins were.
Lucy Letby was "busy doing something, but she wasn't near [Child E]."
She said she immediately went to Child E and used a 'containment technique' which she had been taught, to make him feel calmer, but "it didn't work".
Child E "continued to make the same noise".
She said she was there for "about 10 minutes" in that room.
She said: "There was blood on his face, around his mouth."

11:11am

She tells the court she was asked by police to draw, on a drawing of a child's face, where the blood was coming from.
She tells the court the blood was coming "around the mouth"
Nicholas Johnson KC says it is 'almost like a goatee beard'.
The judge asks for clarification, and the mum says the blood was 'a little above the lips, but mostly below'.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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://twitter.com/MrDanDonoghue

She said she arrived on the unit to find nurse Lucy Letby in there with her two sons. 'I could hear my son crying. I walked over to the incubator to see he had blood coming out of his mouth', she said

'I panicked, I was panicking, I felt like there was something wrong', she said. The mother tells the court that Ms Letby was stood at a work station between the two incubators where her sons were

The mother says Child E's crying 'was a sound that shouldn’t have come from a tiny baby'. 'I can’t explain what that sound was, it was horrendous'

 

[Tortoise]

https://twitter.com/JudithMoritz

The twins' mum says that her son (baby E) had blood around his mouth. She says that Lucy Letby was the only person in the room with the babies but was not by the incubator - she was standing at the workstation.

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

11:14am

The mum said she asked Lucy Letby why Child E was bleeding and what was wrong.
She said Letby replied the feeding tube was rubbing the back of the throat and that would have caused the blood.
The mum said she accepted that explanation, but was concerned about it.
The mum said Letby "told her to go back to the ward", and she did what she was told as Letby "was in authority and knew better than me and I trusted her - completely."
"She said the registrar was on his way and if there was a problem, someone would ring up to the post-natal ward."
She said she accepted that explanation and returned to the post-natal ward.
Upon her return, she rang her husband as "she knew there was something very wrong".

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[investikater]

oh i see the trial has finally started. how is the evidence stacking up so far?

 

[bbsaz]

https://twitter.com/JudithMoritz

The twins' mum says that her son (baby E) had blood around his mouth. She says that Lanother person by was the only person in the room with the babies but was not by the incubator - she was standing at the workstation.

Hhmmm.....how likely is it that you would do something to a baby that causes bleeding, and then leave it to be discovered by another person (medic, parent etc...). Surely you would clean it up? Unless she saw the mother coming and moved away from the incubator, leaving the blood on his face?

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

https://twitter.com/JudithMoritz

The twins' mum says that her son (baby E) had blood around his mouth. She says that Lucy Letby was the only person in the room with the babies but was not by the incubator - she was standing at the workstation.

This reminds me of being a child and breaking something and then pretending to look busy/do something else elsewhere and then when my parent discovered the broken object I would act shocked and as if it was the first time I'd seen it because I was just SOOO busy elsewhere.

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

11:18am

"I knew I needed to speak to him, and tell him."
The court hears the telephone records, including timings, were obtained.
The call to her husband was made at 9.11pm, and lasted 4 minutes and 25 seconds.
She said she rang her husband about her concerns, and remained on the post-natal ward.
She returned to the neo-natal ward "later on that evening", sat in the corridor, watching a team of people around Child E's incubator.
Mr Johnson clarifies this was at the time Child E was being resuscitated.

11:21am

In the time before that, the mum said she was "panicking", having conversations with the midwife, and was "panicking and waiting, waiting, following the rules".
She said Letby had told her the rules to go back to the post-natal ward and wait for anything further.
She was later told by the midwife and to ring her husband. The midwife called the husband at 10.52pm, telling him to come to the hospital, after the neo-natal rang the maternity ward.
She said she does not know why the midwife rang, but assumed it was because she was "very upset" and "knew there was something wrong".

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

Hhmmm.....how likely is it that you would do something to a baby that causes bleeding, and then leave it to be discovered by another person (medic, parent etc...). Surely you would clean it up? Unless she saw the mother coming and moved away from the incubator, leaving the blood on his face?

Why would she be in a room where a child is screaming, with blood on his face and just be stood at a workstation ignoring the situation?

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

11:23am

The mum was taken to the neo-natal ward and the medical team were 'working on Child E' and were unsuccessful in their resuscitation attempts.
She had contact with Lucy Letby after Child E had died.
She tells the court she was asked if she wanted to bath Child E, but at that moment she did not feel able to.
Fighting back tears, the mum says: "I was just...broken, and I couldn't. Lucy Letby bathed him in front of me in the neo-natal unit.
"After he was bathed, he was placed in a white gown.
"I just remember being thankful as we had no clothes for him as he was so little.
"He was given back to us, and put in his incubator, and that is where he stayed."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[LadyEdgeworth]

11:28am

Mr Johnson asks if there was a potential post-mortem raised by one of the doctors.
The mum says the husband asked a few questions and they were told by the doctor a post-mortem "wouldn't tell them much" more than what they had already been told by the doctor, and it would delay the transfer back home.
"We just wanted to take him home."
The mum adds they were given a "memory box" by Lucy Letby which "totally surprised" her and included a memory card, a lock of his hair, a teddy, hand/footprints.
The mum said she was "so overcome with emotion" by that, as she had no other memories for Child E.
Another teddy was provided, and the teddies were swapped, so Child F had Child E's teddy bear, and vice versa.
Lucy Letby also presented a picture of Child F, having 'rolled over and cuddled the [Child E] bear', which she said was 'so amazing' so she had taken a picture to give to them.

11:29am

The mum tells the court she had written a card, with a picture of Child E and Child F on the front, expressing the parents' thanks for staff on the neo-natal unit.

11:31am

The mum tells the court, for Child F, he has never had any bleeding issues in his life.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, November 14

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

 

[Eloise]

Why would she be in a room where a child is screaming, with blood on his face and just be stood at a workstation ignoring the situation?

Right. I'm not a nurse, just a former hospital employee, but I can't imagine any situation where a patient of any age would be left screaming (not the same thing as crying; baby's crying is communication like talking, screaming is the same as screaming) and bleeding and be ignored. The more I hear the more I think even if she's not guilty of murder or attempted murder, she really is a pretty terrible nurse. The tactlessness, the having to be told to attend to her own duties, the constant social media searches, all the messaging during her shifts, the surprise at the drug doses being memorisable (not a word but ykwim), all of it just adds up to a person who seems at best incompetent. JMO.