Lucy Letby inquiry bombshells - from baby death 'excitement' to 'potentially fatal overdose'

A nationalist proceeding into the events surrounding Lucy Letby's crimes has built a representation of what it was similar moving successful the infirmary ward alongside the babe killer.

Over the past week, the Thirlwall Inquiry, led by Lady Justice Thirlwall astatine Liverpool municipality hall, has heard from colleagues and bosses astatine the Countess of Chester Hospital, wherever Letby worked betwixt her 2015 and 2016 sidesplitting spree. The erstwhile NHS nurse, 34, became Britain's astir prolific kid slayer successful August 2023.

Letby was convicted of murdering 7 babies and trying to termination six others. She was past handed her 15th whole-life word this July for the attempted execution of a premature babe girl. As the nationalist enquiry continues to shed airy connected the pistillate down her heinous crimes, the Mirror takes a look astatine the biggest bombshells astir Letby truthful far...

'Potentially fatal overdose' 2 years earlier

Lucy Letby gave a perchance fatal dose of morphine to a newborn babe - 2 years earlier she murdered her archetypal victim, an enquiry has heard. The babe was fixed 10 times the close magnitude of the painkiller astatine the extremity of a July 2013 nighttime shift, which could person seen the babe dice had colleagues not spotted the mistake an hr pursuing a handover.

The enquiry heard Letby and different caregiver had acceptable up a morphine infusion for the infant, but the 2 had contrasting reactions to the fearfulness that unfolded. Letby's workfellow was said to beryllium truthful “distraught” astir the incidental that she astir resigned, but Letby was “unhappy” erstwhile informed by neonatal portion ward lawman ward manager Yvonne Griffiths that she could not administer controlled drugs until a reappraisal had taken place.

A week later, neonatal portion ward manager Eirian Powell seemingly informed Letby she could proceed moving with drugs specified arsenic morphine, the enquiry heard. The adjacent time Letby messaged a colleague, saying: “Thankfully Eirian felt it had been escalated much than it needed to be. Everything is backmost to however it was. I conscionable … person to person much grooming connected utilizing the pumps and it volition beryllium connected my grounds for six months.

"She was precise supportive, a lawsuit of learning to unrecorded with it present and getting my assurance back. I’m connected nights this week, inactive feeling a spot susceptible and reasoning ‘what if’ but I’ll get determination successful time.”

Failed placement for being 'cold'

Letby failed her last twelvemonth placement arsenic a pupil caregiver aft she was noted to beryllium "cold" and lacking empathy with patients and families, the enquiry heard. Her assessor, Nicola Lightfoot, lawman ward manager connected the children's portion astatine the Countess of Chester Hospital, said it was evident to her that Letby did not person the "overall characteristics" to go a palmy registered nurse.

Ms Lightfoot said: "I recovered Lucy to beryllium rather cold. I did not find a earthy warmth exuding from her which I expect from a children's nurse. We spot students that are highly academic, but really from a property constituent of presumption they don't look to blend into the relation of being a children's caregiver which includes characteristics [such] arsenic empathy, being kind, being affable and being capable to found bully relationships with our families."

Ms Lightfoot besides recovered that Letby's objective cognition was "not wherever it should be" and that she "struggled" to clasp accusation implicit calculating dosages of cause medication, and besides to recognise broadside effects of communal drugs. In her last study connected the pupil successful July 2011, she said Letby "requires overmuch much support, prompting and supervision" than she would expect - however, it would beryllium 'achievable' successful the future.

Baby decease admission

On the archetypal time astatine the infirmary wherever she went connected to execution babies, Letby chillingly told a workfellow she "couldn't wait" for her "first death", the enquiry heard. The alleged remark was made successful January 2012, much than 3 years earlier her year-long run of panic took place, successful which she murdered 7 babies and attempted to termination 7 more.

A nurse, referred to arsenic Nurse ZC owed to ineligible reasons, said she was "taken aback" by the admission. She besides said she was likewise amazed when, precocious successful aboriginal 2012, Letby became "quite animated" erstwhile describing however she was progressive successful resuscitation attempts of a babe who had unexpectedly deteriorated overnight.

"She made a remark on the lines of 'I can't hold for my archetypal decease to get it retired of the way'," the caregiver told the inquiry. "It took maine aback due to the fact that for maine the thought of having to acquisition that was not thing you actively privation to happen."

Nurse ZC said she thought astatine the clip that Letby was trying to marque speech connected her archetypal time of work, and did not judge the comments were said with "sinister intent". She spoke of different speech from aboriginal 2012, regarding a babe who was being prepared for discharge from the unit.

"I came successful the adjacent time and not agelong aft I had been determination Lucy benignant of presented arsenic rather animated and told maine everything that had happened to the babe and that she was progressive successful resuscitation attempts," she said. "It was thing that took maine by astonishment due to the fact that evidently the babe had been truthful well."

Nurse ZC described Letby arsenic "kind of excited", but added she thought astatine the clip that it whitethorn person been the "adrenaline" of the acquisition and that she needed to offload. She said: "It was not arsenic if she seemed upset oregon that it had traumatised her successful immoderate way."

Sinister reputation

Letby complained that she was "hurt" and "distressed" that doctors publically referred to her arsenic "angel of death" and "murderer" successful the months aft she was removed from caring for neonatal babies, the enquiry heard. In 2016, she was switched to clerical duties aft consultants told absorption they feared she was harming patients.

Six months later, she was allowed to spell back. During the inquiry, Karen Rees, caput of nursing successful the urgent attraction division, work retired a connection from Letby directed to the consultants astatine the January 2017 gathering up of her planned return. One doc who attended the gathering described the connection arsenic a "melodramatic dissertation".

Letby stated: "My beingness was turned upside down and subsequently enactment connected clasp erstwhile I was unexpectedly informed, successful July 2016, that I was being redeployed from the portion pursuing a play of yearly leave. I person not entered the portion since. There has been a immense constituent of dishonesty passim this process and I privation to guarantee that you each perceive my position and are alert of the interaction your actions person had connected me.

"I admit that we each person a close to rise concerns and that the extortion of our susceptible diligent group, is, of course, of paramount importance. However, I find it highly unprofessional and hurtful to person been made alert of specified unsubstantiated insensitive comments, arsenic listed below, often via 'word of mouth'. Some of these were voiced successful nationalist areas/meetings.

"It was lone done the submission of my grievance that each of these 'comments' were confirmed. Members of your squad person been heard to publically marque comments specified arsenic 'Angel of death', 'murderer connected the unit', 'cold and calculated'. A subordinate of the advisor squad erstwhile asked however they would consciousness if I were to termination myself oregon if thing were to hap to my aged parents arsenic a result, has been documented arsenic replying 'I bash not care'.

The connection continued. Consultant anaesthetist Dr Sean Tighe, who was portion of the meeting, said the doctors responded by "completely denying" they had made immoderate derogatory remarks, which Mr Chambers demanded they apologise for. Letby did not instrumentality to the neonatal portion arsenic infirmary bosses yet called successful Cheshire Police successful May 2017.

Pitiful email to nurses

Letby had been removed from the neonatal portion backmost successful July 2016 aft concerns were raised among her colleagues successful the aftermath of respective unexplained deaths and collapses. But six months later, an outer reappraisal recovered nary grounds of criminality. Chief enforcement Tony Chambers told consultants to "draw a enactment nether the Lucy issue".

Ahead of her planned return, Letby told doctors and nurses she had been 'fully exonerated' of immoderate wrongdoing with a petition for her colleagues. On January 31, 2017, Letby sent a radical email to neonatal nurses successful which she wrote: "Dear colleagues, I was redeployed from the portion successful July 2016 pursuing superior and distressing allegations of a idiosyncratic and nonrecreational quality made by immoderate members of the aesculapian team. From past until present I person been incapable to sojourn oregon interaction the portion whilst these matters were investigated.

"After a thorough investigation, it was established that each the allegations were unfounded and untrue, and therefore, I person been afloat exonerated. I person received a afloat apology from the trust. As you tin ideate this full occurrence has been distressing for maine and my family. I volition statesman my instrumentality to the portion successful the coming weeks. I volition request colleagues to beryllium delicate and supportive astatine this time. Many thanks, Lucy Letby."

Nurse Kathryn Percival-Calderbank told the enquiry that she and her colleagues were "a spot stunned" erstwhile they work the grovelling email. She said: "We were not informed astir anything. We didn't cognize what these allegations had been truthful we were a spot stunned by it each truly due to the fact that we were inactive nether the content she was connected secondment."

She said Mr Chambers told them to "be bully to Lucy" connected her return. Ms Percival-Calderbank said: "A batch of the unit were taken into a room. It took america by astonishment that we had to beryllium bully to Lucy due to the fact that nary of america had ever been horrible to her. That's not successful our nature."

'Inappropriate' messages

One then-junior doctor, who guided Letby, told the enquiry that she "misled and possibly manipulated" him into giving her accusation astir babies she attacked. The man, referred to arsenic Doctor U, exchanged 1,355 Facebook messages with Letby implicit 3 months betwixt June and September 2016, the enquiry was told.

The doc often "reassured" Letby successful messages implicit her attraction of 3 infants successful June 2016 - a lad she attempted to execution and 2 brothers from a acceptable of triplets who she murdered. He went connected to enactment her grievance lawsuit against her removal from the neonatal portion to non-patient duties successful July 2016.

Asked by counsel to the inquiry, Rachel Langdale KC, to explicate the messages, spanning from "quite frivolous casual conversation" to "entirely inappropriate" discussions astir newborn patients, Dr U replied: "Letby was struggling with her intelligence wellness and I deliberation I picked up connected that and offered immoderate support, and that enactment grew, and I understood that she slept very, precise poorly due to the fact that of interest and anxiety.

"There were often messages that were passed passim the time and sometimes aboriginal astatine nighttime and aboriginal successful the morning." The quality of 1 connection was work retired astatine the inquiry, which progressive Letby inquiring astir the information of Child N - an babe she attempted to execution successful aboriginal June 2016 - and whether oregon not she "should beryllium worried?"

Dr U replied: "Oh Lucy, mediocre small thing. I americium definite helium has had the champion attraction imaginable and you volition person done everything you could for him." In different message, aft Letby was removed from the neonatal portion successful July 2016, Dr U told her: "You're inactive the champion [neonatal unit] caregiver I've ever worked with."

When asked astir the messages, Dr U said: "It felt similar a supportive gesture. That present feels similar a mistake. It is thing I person considered connected a regular ground for the past six to 8 years."

He went on: "I deliberation I person go alert that I was not alert of the afloat objective representation and I provided enactment by being misled and possibly manipulated, and for that I'm truly atrocious that things person travel to an extremity arsenic they have. I person a batch of regrets implicit however that play of clip took place." Dr U told the enquiry helium did not fishy deliberate harm had been caused to Child O and P.

'Excitement' successful voice

The enquiry heard that Letby responded to the decease of a newborn babe successful an 'excitable' manner, which a children's caregiver said she had "never seen" earlier oregon since. Nurse Melania Taylor told however Letby discussed a child's decease with her successful an "excited" and "gossipy" mode that she recovered unusual.

Ms Lightfoot, the lawman manager, said she heard Letby sermon the decease of the 2nd triplet babe successful June 2016 arsenic though it was "exciting". She said she heard the ex-nurse accidental successful an animated mode to a workfellow instantly aft the 2nd death: "You'll ne'er conjecture what conscionable happened."

Ms Lightfoot said: "It was similar she was talking astir immoderate breathtaking lawsuit she had seen oregon witnessed connected the portion … it wasn't an due effect to the decease of a child. I had ne'er - and I person ne'er since - seen a effect similar that from a caregiver progressive successful a child's passing." The enquiry is expected to beryllium until aboriginal 2025, with findings published by precocious autumn of that year.