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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Donna Ferguson

Lucy Letby questioned in jail over more baby deaths at two hospitals

Police photograph of Lucy Letby
Police photograph of Lucy Letby Photograph: Cheshire Constabulary/Reuters

Cheshire police have interviewed Lucy Letby in prison under caution over the alleged murders of more babies she cared for.

Letby, a former neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester hospital was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others, with two attempts on the life of one of her victims, in August 2023.

She was subsequently found guilty of an eighth attempted murder charge following a retrial in July this year.

Police began a review of the 4,000 babies she nursed during her career, which dates back to January 2012 and includes two training placements she carried out at the Liverpool Women’s hospital as a student nurse.

It is understood she was questioned for the first time about cases at the latter hospital, as well as baby deaths and collapses at the Countess of Chester hospital.

Cheshire police said on Tuesday: “We can confirm that, following agreement, Lucy Letby has recently been interviewed in prison under caution in relation to the ongoing investigation into baby deaths and non-fatal collapses at the Countess of Chester hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital. Further updates will follow.”

Police would not tell the Daily Mail exactly when the interview took place or how many specific cases Letby – one of only four women sentenced to a whole-life term in UK legal history – was questioned about.

Sources have told the Mail that any charges, if they are brought, won’t be laid until “well into the new year”.

The Guardian was unable to reach Cheshire police for a comment.

Letby is serving a whole-life sentence for her crimes in HMP Bronzefield, in Ashford, Surrey.

The interview was pre-arranged and her legal representative was present, according to the Mail.

The Thirlwall public inquiry is looking into the events surrounding Letby’s crimes. It is expected to sit at Liverpool town hall until early 2025, with findings due to be published by late autumn next year.

Last month, Dr Stephen Brearey, a consultant paediatrician who raised concerns about the nurse told the Thirlwall inquiry he believed Letby “didn’t start becoming a killer” in June 2015 and that she may have had earlier victims.

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