Police footage shows neonatal unit in hospital where Lucy Letby worked
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The sentencing for nurse Lucy Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, is underway, yet the baby murderer is not in the dock.
The 33-year-old was found guilty on Friday of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others when she was working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. She deliberately injected newborns with air, force-fed others milk, or poisoned them with insulin.
Letby is being sentenced on Monday from 10am at Manchester Crown Court and could be handed a rare whole-life order by judge Mr Justice Goss.
However, the nurse indicated to her legal team last week that she would not take any part in the hearing, while the judge said the court has no power to force a defendant to attend a sentencing.
Lucy Letby does not appear in dock as sentencing gets underway
Nurse Lucy Letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of her sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more.
Nicholas Johnson KC, prosecuting, opened his remarks by confirming that the defendant “has refused to come into court”.
The serial killer had indicated to her legal team last week that she did not want to take any part in the hearing after she was convicted on Friday.
The court will hear from the families of her many victims on Monday before Judge Justice Goss passes his sentence later in the day.
More than a dozen relatives of Letby’s victims sat in the public gallery for the hearing and eight jurors returned to see the sentencing.
Nurse Lucy Letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of her sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more
Moment prison van allegedly carrying Letby arrives at court
This is the moment a prison van allegedly carrying Lucy Letby arrives at Manchester Crown Court in a prison van ahead of her sentencing on Monday.
Letby is now the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history.
The 33-year-old was found guilty on Friday of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others when she was working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. She deliberately injected newborns with air, force-fed others milk, or poisoned them with insulin.
Lucy Leeson reports:
Moment prison van allegedly carrying Lucy Letby arrives at Manchester Crown Court
This is the moment a prison van allegedly carrying Lucy Letby arrives at Manchester Crown Court in a prison van ahead of her sentencing on Monday. Letby is now the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history. The 33-year-old was found guilty on Friday of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others when she was working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. She deliberately injected newborns with air, force-fed others milk, or poisoned them with insulin.
Father tells court of ‘devil finding’ his daughter
The father of Child G, who Letby was found guilty of attempting to murder twice, said “the devil found” his daughter.
In a statement, he told the court his baby had been born prematurely and the start of her life was a “bumpy road”.
He said: “Every day I would sit there and pray. I would pray for God to save her. He did. He saved her, but the devil found her.”
He said their child now had brain damage, was registered blind, and was fed through a tube.
Speaking about receiving the call to say someone was arrested, he said: “I just didn’t expect that.
“I just want it to be over now.”
Court seen what Letby ‘is really like once “nice Lucy” mask slips'
The mother of Child E, who died, and Child F, who survived, said the court had seen what Letby “is really like once the ‘nice Lucy’ mask slips”.
She told Manchester Crown Court: “The trial felt like a platform for Lucy to relive her crimes and it feels cruel that we had to endure a 10-month trial when she knew all along that she intentionally killed and harmed my babies. She has repeatedly disrespected my boy’s memory.
“I would like to thank Lucy for taking the stand and showing the court what she is really like once the ‘nice Lucy’ mask slips. It was honestly the best thing she could have done to ensure our boys got the justice they deserve.”
She said: “We have been living a nightmare but, for me, it ends today. I refuse to wake up with my first thought be about my boys being harmed. Lucy no longer has control over our lives. She holds no power or relevance in anybody’s life. She is nothing.”
The woman said her son who survived has been diagnosed with severe learning difficulties “which we believe is a result of being poisoned with a large quantity of insulin”, adding: “I never allow him to be alone with medical professionals.”
Change the law to force killers to attend court, says senior Tory
Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland told The Independent that Letby’s refusal to face her victims’ families as she is sentenced “added insult to the most grievous injury she has caused”.
The senior Tory MP called on ministers to amend a Victims and Prisoners Bill currently going through parliament to bring in the change that would force convicted killers to appear in court.
And he suggested beaming the hearing into Letby’s cell using a live link, ensuring she has “nowhere to hide”. Mr Buckland said Letby “needs to hear the victim’s personal statements as impact statements”.
Watch: Rishi Sunak calls Lucy Letby 'cowardly' for refusing to attend sentencing
Parent ‘uneasy’ during trial as Letby ‘kept looking’ at them
A parent said that they were made to feel “uneasy” by Letby during the trial because she kept looking over at them.
The father said in a statement read out to court: “There was a day when I was at the trial and the public gallery was full and I was sat in Lucy Letby’s line of view and she kept looking over at me. That made me feel quite uncomfortable and uneasy and I had to move in the afternoon so I was out of her view.”
He also told of how Letby’s crimes had “taken its toll on me as a person”, describing how the image of his son collapsing was “forever etched” in his mind and the stress and strain had been unbearable at times.
He said: “Initially doctors told us that the whole events that took place in 2016 surrounding my children was normal for premature babies and we believed what the doctors were telling us at the time. Little did we know that a year or so after their birth the police would come knocking on the door and break the news that this could be an attempted murder case.”
He said he had been prescribed anti-depressants but said: “Even though they have helped they can never take away the feelings I have as a parent knowing now what had truly happened at the Countess of Chester in 2016 and it doesn’t make it any easier to cope with over time.”
Letby decision to not be in court is ‘final act of wickedness from coward’
A mother of one of Letby’s victims has criticised her decision to not be in court to hear the family’s impact statements, describing it as “one final act of wickedness from a coward”.
She said: “Even in these final days of the trial she has tried to control things, the disrespect she has shown the families and the court show what type of person she is.
“We have attended court day in and day out, yet she decides she has had enough, and stays in her cell, just one final act of wickedness from a coward.
“I would like to thank Lucy for taking the stand and showing the court what she is really like once the ‘nice Lucy’ mask slips. It was honestly the best thing she could have done to ensure our [children] got the justice they deserve.”
Watch: Zara Aleena’s aunt calls for reform as Letby refuses to appear for sentencing
The aunt of murder victim Zara Aleena has said that if criminals like Lucy Letby are not persuaded to attend their sentencing it “will continue as a trend”.
Letby has said she won’t appear when she is sentenced for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more.
Farah Naz is calling for a change in the law after the killer of her niece also refused to appear in court. She said reading victim impact statements at the sentencing of her niece’s killer, Jordan McSweeney, without him present “felt farcical” and they “still want to face him”.
Lucy Leeson reports:
Zara Aleena’s aunt calls for reform as Lucy Letby refuses to appear for sentencing
The aunt of murder victim Zara Aleena has said that if criminals like Lucy Letby are not persuaded to attend their sentencing it “will continue as a trend”. Letby has said she won’t appear when she is sentenced for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more. Farah Naz is calling for a change in the law after the killer of her niece also refused to appear in court. She said reading victim impact statements at the sentencing of her niece’s killer, Jordan McSweeney, without him present “felt farcical” and they “still want to face him”.
Mother tells of ‘whole body shaking’ at finding out baby’s death was murder
One mother recalled her “whole body shaking” when she found out someone was being arrested for the murder of her baby.
She said in a statement read out to court by lawyers: “When they told us they were arresting someone for [our child’s] murder I remember my whole body shaking and having to tell [my husband], we were both absolutely broken that someone could do something so evil to our precious little [baby] and this has had a massive effect on our family even until this day.
“We dug for years trying to get answers for what had happened and over the years we have been in some very dark places mentally.”
She said she would “wake in the night in a panic because of the nightmares” induced by the death of her baby, while her husband “wished he was dead” and struggled to be around family.
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2023-08-21 10:37:34Z
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