Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse who killed seven babies in her care and attempted to kill six others at a hospital in northern England has been sentenced to life in prison.
Letby was sentenced on Monday, August 21st, 2023, the sentencing comes with no chance of release by a judge who highlighted “the cruelty and calculation” of her actions.
Lucy Letby’s sentencing in Manchester Crown Court marks the end of a years-long effort to uncover the true cause of an unexplained string of deaths and collapses of infants at Countess of Chester Hospital, in Chester, England, between 2015 and 2016.
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Lucy Letby sentenced to life in prison: she has throughout her trial process claimed to be innocent.
Lucy Letby, who refused to appear in court to face her sentencing or to hear grieving parents share their anger and anguish, was given the most severe punishment possible under British law, her sentencing was handed by Judge Justice Goss, according to a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service.
“Because the seriousness of your offenses is exceptionally high, I direct that the early release provisions do not apply,” Goss told the court in a video shared by the BBC. “The order of the court therefore is whole life order on each and every offense and you will spend the rest of your life in prison.”
On Friday, Letby had been found guilty on 14 of a possible 22 counts that she faced after a 10-month trial in Manchester Crown Court. The jury was deadlocked on the attempted murder of four other babies. She had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Letby refused to appear in court for her sentencing. The judge said the former neonatal nurse had shown no remorse for her crimes and had waged a “cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of child murder involving the smallest and most vulnerable of children.”
Letby had worked as a nurse in the neonatal ward of Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester, England.
In a statement obtained following her sentencing, Pascale Jones of the Crown Prosecution Service said that Letby’s sentence means “she will never again be able to inflict the suffering she did while working as a neonatal nurse.”
“She has rightly been brought to justice by the courts,” Jones continued. “My thoughts remain with the families of the victims who have demonstrated enormous strength in the face of extraordinary suffering. I hope that the trial has brought answers which had long eluded them.”
On Monday, statements from the babies’ parents were also read out in court. As reported by the BBC, the judge said Letby would be provided with copies of the statements from both the parents and his own remarks.
In a statement shared Friday following her conviction, Jones said Letby’s attacks were “a complete betrayal of the trust placed in her.”
“Lucy Letby was entrusted to protect some of the most vulnerable babies,” the statement read. “Little did those working alongside her know that there was a murderer in their midst. She did her utmost to conceal her crimes, by varying the ways in which she repeatedly harmed babies in her care.”
The prosecution said Letby force-fed the babies milk, poisoned some with insulin and injected others with air.
During the trial, former colleagues of Letby testified that they’d witnessed unusual activity from her. She was removed from the neonatal ward in 2016, after senior hospital staff grew suspicious following a year of mysterious deaths and near-deaths.
In total, five boys and two girls were killed while under Letby’s care in the neonatal ward.
Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Evans, who coordinated the police interviews with Letby during the investigation, previously told PEOPLE that Letby appeared to be a normal woman in her 20s, with a “healthy social life” and plenty of friends.
“Clearly there was a massive deceit going on during that period involving her family and her friends,” Evans said.
At one point in the trial, prosecutors told jurors of Post-It notes discovered at Letby’s home. She wrote that she was “evil” and “killed them on purpose.”
Families of the babies never suspected that Letby had anything to do with the deaths — until her arrest in July of 2018.
“Absolutely none of them expected that harm would have come to their baby on a neonatal unit, therefore they didn’t have any suspicions because why on earth would they,” Evans said.
Letby even wrote a sympathy card to one of the families of a girl that she killed and apologized for not being able to attend the funeral.
“There are no words to make this time any easier,” Letby wrote. “It was a real privilege to care for [the child] and get to know you as a family — a family who always put [child] first and did everything possible for her. She will always be part of your lives and we will never forget her. Thinking of you today and always.”
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE following Letby’s sentencing, Evans said the whole-life order “reflects the true scale and gravity of her horrific crimes.”
“Nothing will bring back the babies who died or take away the pain and suffering experienced by all of the families over the years but I hope that the significant sentence will bring some comfort at this dark time,” the statement read.
“The victim impact statements read out in court today on behalf of the parents are a chilling reminder of the pain and suffering that each family has had to endure over the years. Hearing their own experiences in their own words has been truly heartbreaking.”
“I would once again like to say thank you to the families for putting your trust in us and for supporting an investigation that has been running for six years and a trial that has spanned almost 12 months.
“Our thoughts remain with you all at this incredibly difficult time – you are truly remarkable and will always have a place in our hearts,” Evans added.
Letby is the fourth-ever woman to be given this sentence in the U.K., according to the BBC.
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Sources: People.com, APNews.com, Globalnews.ca
