Baby deaths nurse held in custody ‘for safety’
A NURSE charged with the murder of eight babies in a one-year killing spree was yesterday remanded in custody “for her own protection”.
Lucy Letby, who worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital, appeared before magistrates for a short hearing where the names of her alleged victims were made public for the first time.
The 3 0- year- ol d was arrested for a third time on Tuesday as part of an investigation into baby deaths that began in 2017.
Letby, from Hereford, also faces ni ne c har ge s of attempted murder during the period when she worked at the hospital as a neonatal nurse from June 2015 to 2016.
They also involve babies under the age of one, but t heir names cannot be reported for legal reasons.
District Judge Nicholas Sanders referred Letby’s case to Chester Crown Court, where she will appear this afternoon. The magistrates’ court heard t hat Letby should be denied bail for her own safety.
She had worked at the hospital since 2011, when she graduated from the University of Chester, and also worked there during her three years as a student nurse.
In a staff profile in the Chester and District Standard in March 2013, Letby described her role in the neonatal unit and revealed that she had recently trained at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
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 f or many months and I enjoy seeing them progress and supporting their families.” Earlier this week Detective Chief Inspector Paul Hughes said officers had been “doing everything they can as quickly as they can” to identify what led to the deaths and collapses of the infants.
“This is an extremely difficult time for all the families and it is important to remember that, at the heart of this, t here are a number of bereaved families seeking answers as to what happened to their children,” he added.
Susan Gilby, the chief executive at the Countess of Chester Hospital, said: “Our thoughts are with the families involved. We are cooperating fully with the ongoing police investigation and so are unable to comment further at this time.”