Lucy Letby trial: What nurse accused of killing babies said in her defence
The trial of nurse Lucy Letby is entering it’s final stage, with the judge set to begin summing up the case today.
The 33-year-old from Hereford is accused of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.
The trial began in October last year. Over the past few weeks, Letby has recently given evidence lasting 14 days, during which she has denied all the allegations about her.
Next week the prosecution and defence will make closing speeches before the jury retires to reach a verdict.
Here, Yahoo News UK rounds up some of Letby’s key lines of defence from the witness box…
24 May: ‘The medical team could have acted sooner’
Giving evidence last month, Letby suggested that “medical incompetency” rather than her alleged actions could have contributed to the death of Child E.
Letby is accused of targeting the baby, who died having lost a quarter of his blood volume, during a night shift in August 2015.
But Letby said the medical team “could have acted sooner to respond to the blood issue”, telling prosecutor Nick Johnson KC that there was no issue at 9pm – when the baby’s mother claimed to have heard screaming.
Letby added: “I think once (Child E ) was profusely bleeding after 10pm maybe a blood transfusion or something could have been given sooner.”
18 May: ‘Gang of four pinned blame on to me’
A ‘gang of four’ consultants has pinned the blame for baby deaths on her to cover up hospital failings, Letby told jurors.
She named four hospital consultants who she alleged had conspired against her.
Letby said: “They have apportioned blame on to me.”
When asked what the reason was, she replied: “I believe to cover failings at the hospital.”
Gang of four’ pinned baby deaths on me, Letby tells murder trial(Evening Standard, 2 min)
Watch: Lucy Letby arrives at Manchester Crown Court for trial
15 May: Staffing was ‘completely unsafe’
Letby said a message she sent to colleagues about the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital being “completely unsafe” was about the staffing levels.
She said the 18 babies on the unit meant it was “over capacity” and “a lot of staff were drained physically and emotionally”.
She added: “The unit was very busy, lots of people were doing additional shifts and changing shifts at the last minute and it did start to have an effect on everybody.”
Letby claimed the unit was the busiest it had ever been during her time at the hospital.
Letby said hospital staffing was ‘completely unsafe’, murder trial told (The Guardian, 2 min)
20 April: Being present at deaths was ‘bad luck’
Letby said the deaths of three babies in 14 days in June 2015 had “shocked everybody” who worked there.
But she denied that she had a hand in their deaths, insisting that it was just “bad luck” that she was present.
Letby said she was concerned about a “spike” in neonatal deaths and prosecutor Philip Astbury asked her: “You dealt with all of these. What do you put that down to? Bad luck?” Letby replied: “Yes.”
Letby told police her presence at babies’ deaths was ‘bad luck’(The Guardian, 3 min)
24 May: ‘Raw sewage’ may have contributed to deaths
Speaking about what could have caused the deaths of the babies, Letby suggested that “raw sewage” could have played a part.
She said an "important factor to note, there were often plumbing issues within the unit".
When asked what plumbing issues had to do with the deaths of the children, Letby claimed there was "raw sewage coming out of the sinks and running on to the floor in the intensive care unit".
She said this could have had an effect on the health of the babies, as well as staff members not being able to wash their hands properly.
Nurse says 'raw sewage' may have contributed to deaths (Sky News, 4 min)
27 April: Letby defends ‘confession’ note
A note found at Letby’s home where she wrote ‘I killed them on purpose’ was written because “everything got on top of me”, Letby claimed.
She added ‘I am a horrible evil person’ and in capital letters ‘I am evil I did this’ on the Post-it note.
But Letby told detectives: “I just wrote it because everything had got on top of me.
“It was when I’d not long found out I’d been removed from the unit and they were telling me my practice might be wrong, that I needed to read all my competencies – my practice might not have been good enough.
Letby said she that was “blaming myself… because of the way people were making me feel”.
7 June: Letby ‘collects paper’
Letby said confidential medical notes she took home from the baby unit were because she “collects paper”.
She accepted that she had taken Baby M’s blood gas record paperwork home but “it just got got put in my pocket and it has come home with me”.
Letby denied taking paperwork from the confidential waste bin, telling jurors: "I have never rooted in the bin for anything.
When asked what made the notes “collectable” while other things like bank statements were shredded, Letby said the statements would have been “at the forefront of her mind”.
