Lucy Letby biography: 13 things about former neonatal nurse born in Hereford, England

Lucy Letby is a former neonatal nurse born and raised in Hereford, Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom. She is the only child of John Letby, a retired accounts clerk, and Susan Letby, an accounts clerk.

An alumna of Aylestone School and Hereford Sixth Form College, which are both in Hereford, Lucy graduated from the University of Chester in Chester, Cheshire, England in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. From 2012 through 2015, she worked at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in Liverpool, England.

In 2012, Lucy joined the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester as a registered nurse. She is accused of killing seven newborns at the unit between June 2015 and June 2016.

In 2013, Lucy said in a staff profile that she was responsible for “caring for a wide range of babies requiring various levels of support” and that she enjoyed “seeing them progress and supporting their families”. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. On June 8, 2015, a baby boy, a twin, was handed over to her on the night shift at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit. He died 90 minutes of her coming on duty. On June 9, 2015, she allegedly injected his twin sister with air. The baby girl survived after being resuscitated. On June 14, 2015, she allegedly injected air into the stomach of a baby boy at the hospital, killing him, and on June 22, 2015, she allegedly injected air into a baby girl’s bloodstream at the hospital, killing her.
2. On July 2, 2015, Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit head consultant Dr. Stephen Brearey carried out a review of the deaths of three babies at the unit in June 2015. The hospital’s deputy chief executive Alison Kelly was told she was the only nurse on shift for each of the deaths but she remained on the unit.
3. On August 4, 2015, she was interfering with the nasogastric tube of a baby boy, a twin, at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit when the baby’s mother walked in on her. The baby suffered a fatal bleed and died. On August 5, 2015, she allegedly laced the baby’s twin brother’s feeding bag with insulin.
4. On September 7, 2015, she allegedly injected extra milk and air into a baby girl’s nasogastric tube at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit. On September 21, 2015, she allegedly tried to kill the baby girl again. The baby girl survived but became severely disabled. On October 23, 2015, she allegedly inserted air into a baby girl’s stomach at the unit, which killed the baby.
5. On April 9, 2016, she allegedly injected insulin into a dextrose bag attached to a baby boy, a twin, at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and injected his twin brother with air. Both boys survived.
6. On June 3, 2016, she allegedly thrusted a baby boy’s nasogastric tube into his throat at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit. On June 23, 2016, she allegedly injected air into the nasogastric tube of a baby boy, a triplet, at the unit, killing him, and on June 24, 2016, she allegedly pumped air into his triplet brother’s stomach via his nasogastric tube, killing the second triplet. That day, Brearey called the hospital’s duty executive Karen Rees to say she had to be removed from the unit.
7. On July 3, 2018, she was arrested on suspicion of eight counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder. On July 6, 2018, she was bailed.
8. On June 10, 2019, she was arrested in connection with eight murders and nine attempted murders of babies. She was later bailed.
9. On March 13, 2020, the Nursing and Midwifery Council placed her on an interim suspension.
10. On November 10, 2020, she was arrested again. On November 11, 2020, she was charged with eight counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, denied bail and remanded in police custody. On November 12, 2020, she appeared at Warrington Magistrates’ Court in Warrington, England.
11. In May 2021, while jailed in HM Prison Peterborough in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England, she appeared at a case management hearing at Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool by video link. The date was set for her trial.
12. On October 10, 2022, her trial began at Manchester Crown Court in Manchester, England before Mr. Justice Gross. She pleaded not guilty to seven counts of murder and 15 counts of attempted murder. In May 2023, she herself gave evidence to the court. On August 18, 2023, she was found guilty of seven counts of murder of seven babies seven counts of attempted murder of six infants.
13. She was 33 years old when she was sentenced on August 21, 2023 to life imprisonment with a whole life order. She opted not to attend the sentencing hearing.