Lucy Letby convictions under scrutiny as experts challenge trial evidence in new ITV doc
Several medical experts criticise the 'deeply disturbing' and 'flawed' evidence used to convict killer nurse Lucy Letby in a new documentary on TV tonight.
Letby was found guilty of murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to kill seven others and was handed 15 whole life sentences, meaning she will never be released from prison.
But in ITV 's Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? her barrister Mark McDonald says: 'There's no direct evidence, no one saw her do anything wrong.' It comes after it was reported that 'scared' Letby can't lose weight as she hoards 'junk food' behind bars.
He adds: 'In the trial, they started from the starting point, 'She has done harm. Now we have to show how she has harmed each child....we're just going to put together a theory.' And she was convicted on that theory.'
Two appeals have failed. But in February a panel of medical experts, led by Dr Shoo Lee, found Letby did not murder any babies. Her defence team has now submitted an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Dr Neena Modi, ex-president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, says: 'It's been deeply disturbing that one can have such a... tremendously important trial that seems to have been conducted with so many flaws.'
One alleged flaw is a shift chart, used to prove Letby was always present when the babies were harmed at the Countess of Chester Hospital from 2015 to 2016.
But statistician Professor Jane Hutton says some incidents, when Letby was not working, were left off, adding: 'This is a summary that is so crude it can only be described as grossly misleading.'
It was also claimed Letby must have caused one baby's death by removing a breathing tube. But several experts say the tubes can be dislodged for a 'variety of reasons'.
Notes by Letby, including the phrase 'I am evil I did this' were presented as confessional in court. But it is claimed she was encouraged by hospital staff to write down her feelings to help cope with stress.
It is also alleged the prosecution's lead expert, Dr Dewi Evans, has altered his view about how three babies died since the case.
But he denies this, saying his evidence has been agreed by a jury and the Court of Appeal. He also argues the case by Dr Shoo Lee's panel has not been held to scrutiny in court and contains significant factual errors.
The CPS said: 'Lucy Letby was convicted of 15 separate counts following two jury trials.
'In May 2024, the Court of Appeal dismissed Letby's leave to appeal on all grounds, rejecting her argument that expert prosecution evidence was flawed.'
It added that it is considering police files on further baby deaths and collapses at the Countess of Chester and Liverpool Women's Hospital.
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Scottish Sun
32 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
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The Sun
32 minutes ago
- The Sun
Constance Marten's hellhole life at ‘female Monster Mansion' revealed as baby killer fends off brutal prison attacks
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Lucy Letby was taught to write down darkest thoughts, friend claims in bombshell documentary
A bombshell new documentary on child killer Lucy Letby will offer a new explanation behind a number of scribbled notes written by the nurse which were used as evidence to convict her. Britain's most prolific child serial killer is currently serving 15 whole-life sentences for seven murders and seven attempted murders of babies while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Notes such as 'I am evil, I did this' were scrawled on a scrappy notepad found in her house, which also read: 'I killed them on purpose because I am not good enough to care for them and I am a horrible evil person.' 'Hate' was also written in block capitals with heavy ink and circled, while the note is headed: 'Not good enough.' But the notes also included other phrases such as: "I haven't done anything wrong" and "we tried our best and it wasn't enough" The NHS neonatal nurse is currently serving 15 whole life sentences for seven murders and seven attempted murders of babies while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital. According to The Times, a new ITV documentary will put forward a new explanation for the notes, which were presented by the prosecution as amounting to a confession - despite some of the notes appearing to deny her guilt. Dawn is a childhood friend of Letby with whom she studied her A-Levels at Aylestone School in Hereford. The 35-year-old, who did not want her last name to be published, said the pair were taught while in school to write down their most dark thoughts during 'peer-support training sessions' Speaking to the Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? documentary, she said: 'At all of those training sessions, it was recommended to us that, you know, if you're feeling overwhelmed, you write down everything that's going through your mind that is, you know, troubling you. 'So, all of the dark thoughts, all of those inner voices that you can't silence. You just write it all down on a piece of paper to get it off your mind.' Letby has lost two attempts to challenge her convictions at the Court of Appeal so far, but questions are growing about the safety of Letby's convictions after multiple experts have cast doubts over some of the evidence used in the trial in August 2023. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is reviewing an application by Letby's legal team, which includes a 300-page report from chemical engineer Helen Shannon and professor Geoff Chase, who refute claims made by the prosecution that Letby 'undoubtedly' poisoned two babies by spiking their feeding bags with insulin. Ms Shannon and Prof Chase, who were given access to the babies' medical notes, say they could have been born with specific types of antibodies in their blood which can cause a high reading of insulin. Speaking to the documentary, Ms Shannon said according to The Times: 'What was presented in court as this is smoking-gun evidence of poisoning actually looks pretty typical for a pre-term neonate. 'And we can't see any justification whatsoever for the prosecution statement that it could only be poisoning.' Dawn also tells the documentary about the moment Letby was found guilty: 'I think I was at work when I heard that they were, sort of, returning the verdict, and sort of tuned in and I think I just sat there dumbfounded for a while, not really knowing how to process what I was hearing,' she said. 'I didn't think it was real. I immediately switched to thinking: 'Well, what's next, you know? What happens next? This can't be it. She can't just spend the rest of her life in prison'.'
