Nurse Lucy Letby, responsible for the deaths of seven newborn babies, has been sentenced to spend the remainder of her life in prison. On Monday, a judge ruled that she, the most prolific serial child killer in modern British history, will never be released.
Over a span of 13 months from 2015, the 33-year-old Letby murdered five baby boys and two baby girls at the neonatal unit of Countess of Chester hospital in northern England. Her methods included injecting the infants with insulin or air, or force-feeding them milk.
Among her victims were twins; in one case, she killed both siblings, and in another, she took the lives of two of three triplets. In two instances, she succeeded in murdering one twin but failed in her attempts to harm the other.
Judge James Goss, delivering the sentence, described Letby’s actions as a “cruel, calculated, and cynical campaign of child murder involving the smallest and most vulnerable of children.” He imposed a life sentence with no possibility of release.
Whole life sentences are exceptionally rare, with only three women in Britain having received such a sentence previously, including notorious serial killers Myra Hindley and Rosemary West.
No clear motive for Letby’s crimes has been established, leaving only Letby herself privy to the reasons behind her actions. Her refusal to leave her cell to hear the sentencing has prompted calls for criminals to face the consequences of their actions by listening to the impact on their victims or their families.
Letby’s heinous crimes, carried out when she was in her 20s, have deeply shocked the UK, shattered the lives of the victims’ families, and caused lasting trauma to her colleagues.
Last week, she was found guilty of seven counts of murder and seven of attempted murder following a 10-month trial at Manchester Crown Court. Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision on six other charges of attempted murder, leading to her acquittal on two of them.
The government has initiated an inquiry into the case, responding to allegations from senior doctors in the neonatal unit that their concerns about Letby were disregarded by hospital management. There are calls for the inquiry to be led by a judge with the authority to compel witnesses to testify.
In addition, police are investigating 4,000 other admissions to neonatal units where Letby worked to determine if there may be other victims.
