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Cheshire baby deaths: nurse questioned on suspicion of murder Cheshire baby deaths: police widen inquiry to second hospital
(about 3 hours later)
A 28-year-old children’s nurse is being questioned on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to kill a further six at the Countess of Chester hospital. Police investigating the suspicious deaths of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit have widened their work to a second hospital.
Lucy Letby, from Chester, is understood to have been arrested by detectives investigating the suspicious deaths of as many as 17 babies in the hospital’s neonatal unit between March 2015 and July 2016. Lucy Letby, 28 from Chester, is understood to have been arrested by detectives investigating the child deaths at the Chester hospital’s neonatal unit between March 2015 and July 2016.
Cheshire police would not confirm the name of the suspect, however Letby was identified by neighbours in Chester on Tuesday. Cheshire police said the woman was arrested that morning and taken into custody. On Wednesday, another hospital confirmed that they were co-operating with a police inquiry. A spokesperson for Liverpool women’s NHS trust confirmed that Letby had had placements at the trust. It was co-operating with the police investigation.
On Wednesday forensic investigators were seen working inside Letby’s house about a mile from the hospital. A blue tent remains on the driveway, while the neighbouring properties either side are still taped off. Two police community support officers were guarding the entrance to the property where Letby is thought to have lived for at least two years. The police began an investigation into infant deaths at the hospital in May 2017, initially looking at the deaths of 15 babies between June 2015 and June 2016. On Tuesday police said the investigation had been widened to include 17 deaths and 15 non-fatal collapses of babies between March 2015 and July 2016.
A neighbouring couple, who did not wish to be named, said they recognised Letby’s face in the newspaper and had seen her on their street. “We only knew her to say hello to, nothing more,” one said. Cheshire police would not confirm the name of the suspect, however Letby was identified by neighbours in Chester on Tuesday. Police said the woman was arrested that morning and taken into custody.
Steve Doyle, from Ellesmere Port, said he had seen Letby in the Countess of Chester’s unit for women and children when his daughter was admitted to hospital. “I remember distinctly her face and she was part of that unit, on ward 30,” he said. “We didn’t get to talk to her but I recognised her face.” On Wednesday, West Mercia police returned to Letby’s parents Susan, 58, and John, 73, in Hereford. Two uniformed officers went into the property and spent about 50 minutes inside.
Letby, a University of Chester graduate, is understood to have worked at the hospital as a paediatric nurse since 2011, when she graduated, and before that as a student nurse during her three years of training. Neighbours said they were struggling to come to terms with the arrest of the University of Chester graduate. One friend described Lucy as a “professional nurse” who was dedicated to her “dream job” and “wouldn’t hurt a fly”.
She was pictured smiling and holding up a babygrow in the hospital’s internal newsletter, the Standard, in March 2013 in which she spoke about her role in the neonatal unit. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We’re still reeling from it to be honest. Even after sleeping on it I think everybody around here is still in a state of shock and disbelief. Lucy was doing the job she dreamed of doing and appeared nothing but dedicated and professional. You can’t imagine her hurting a fly let alone defenceless babies.”
She said: “My role involves caring for a wide range of babies requiring various levels of support. Some are here for a few days, others for many months, and I enjoy seeing them progress and supporting their families. Another resident on the street, who also did not want to be named, added: “I can’t add much more to what’s been already said about her. I knew her when she was a little girl and she was as sweet as anything. I’ve seen her grow up and she seemed a lovely woman. So this is news is deeply and utterly shocking. I can’t fathom it. When you hear of these sort of things, you always get one or two people saying ‘I thought there was something fishy about them’. But with Lucy all you will hear is positive things.”
“I am currently undergoing extra training in order to develop and enhance my knowledge and skills within the intensive care area and have recently completed a placement at Liverpool women’s hospital.” A shop worker at a store close to the family home said: “They pop in now and again and they are a very polite family. They all seem very friendly and normal. It’s shocking as it’s a nice area and we rarely see police around here.”
She added that plans for the hospital to expand of its neonatal unit would “provide a greater degree of privacy and space for parents and siblings”. On Wednesday, forensic investigators were seen working inside Letby’s house about a mile from the hospital. A blue tent remained on the driveway and two police community support officers were guarding the entrance to the property where Letby is thought to have lived for at least two years.
In a second appearance in the hospital newsletter in August 2015, Letby was pictured smiling for a story about how nurses had raised £1.5m and reached the halfway mark in a £3m effort to build a new “state of the art” baby unit. Steve Doyle, from Ellesmere Port, said he had seen Letby in the Countess of Chester’s unit for women and children when his daughter was admitted to hospital. “I remember distinctly her face and she was part of that unit, on ward 30,” he said. “We didn’t get to talk to her but I recognised her face. It’s a disgrace, what’s happened with the Countess. I wouldn’t be taking our child there again. It’s tragic. I feel so sorry for the parents.”
A photograph of Letby in her graduation robes and gown appeared in her local Hereford Times newspaper in December 2011, along with a note from her parents: “We are so proud of you after all your hard work. Love Mum and Dad.” Letby is understood to have worked at the hospital as a children’s nurse since 2011, when she graduated, and before that as a student nurse during her three years of training.
Plainclothes police officers were seen searching the house of her parents, Susan, 58, and John, 73, in Herefordshire after her arrest on Tuesday. She was pictured smiling and holding up a “babygrow” garment in the hospital’s internal newsletter, the Standard, in March 2013, in which she spoke about her role in the neonatal unit.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “Lucy is so dedicated to her job. I can’t imagine that at all. Lucy just spent a week in Torquay on holiday with her parents. In a second appearance in the hospital newsletter, in August 2015, Letby was pictured smiling for a story about how nurses had raised £1.5m and reached the halfway mark in a £3m bid to build a new “state of the art” baby unit.
“I just truly can’t believe it. I lived here since she was born, she was a good little girl. She was a delight. She’s is an only child and I believe she got her job as a nurse from her studies at Chester University. Her parents must be going through hell. A photograph of Letby in her graduation robes and gown appeared in the Hereford Times newspaper in December 2011, along with a note from her parents: “We are so proud of you after all your hard work. Love Mum and Dad.”
“I’m really close to them – I mean, we housesit for each other when one of us goes away. I knocked earlier but got no response and it makes me upset knowing that I can’t help them.” A report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in May said staffing at the hospital’s neonatal unit, which reported a “higher than usual” number of baby deaths, was inadequate.
Another neighbour who wanted to remain anonymous said: “Lucy was just a quiet girl. Nothing strange about her – she was just a normal, lovely girl. The family must be in bits over this. The review found no definitive explanation for an increase in mortality rates, but identified significant gaps in medical and nursing rotas, poor decision making and insufficient senior cover.
“It’s just really shocking. She was just here on Saturday, we saw her with her father and she seemed normal. I think her father was driving her back home because they had just got back from a holiday. A mother who has spoken to detectives investigating the deaths of multiple babies at the Countess of Chester said she would never have any more children after being left traumatised by her experience, and she called for a wider inquiry.
“We’ve known Lucy since she was about three years old and she was lovely, she always has been. But this is just really shocking.” The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Guardian her son was born at the hospital by an emergency cesarean section in September 2015 and spent two days in the neonatal unit.
Police launched an investigation in May last year into the deaths of 15 babies and six non-fatal collapses at the women and children’s unit of the Countess of Chester hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. The force said on Tuesday the inquiry had widened to cover the deaths of 17 babies and 15 non-fatal collapses between March 2015 and July 2016. She said: “My son stopped breathing after I was induced and the negligence in the hospital was absolutely horrendous from the start. They had no staff and the care was just terrible. Some of the midwives were lovely but the majority weren’t. I ended up having a horrendous time after giving birth.
“My son was in the neonatal unit and I developed an infection which was due to negligence by a member of staff. We made a complaint at the time but it was brushed under the carpet.”
A spokesman for Countess of Chester Hospital NHS foundation trust said: “We will not be commenting further at this time due to the ongoing police investigation.”
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