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‘Lucy Letby tried to kill our twins - and became angry when she failed’

One of Britain’s worst criminals, Letby has been convicted of killing seven newborn babies and trying to murder six more

Maanya Sachdeva
Friday 18 August 2023 14:06 EDT
Lucy Letby’s colleague alleges hospital staff ‘knew exactly what was going on’

The parents of twin boys who Lucy Letby tried to murder have recalled how the killer nurse became “angry and frustrated” when their sons survived.

A jury at Manchester Crown Court on 18 August found 33-year-old Letby guilty of murdering seven newborn babies while working at the neonatal unit of a hospital between June 2015 and 2016.

The child serial killer was also convicted of attempting to murder six other infants, including Babies L and M, during her reign of terror at the Countess of Chester hospital.

On 9 April 2016, Letby tried to poison Baby L with insulin and also near-fatally injected his brother with air.

Their parents told The Telegraph Letby was “calm and cool” as doctors tried to save Baby M, and started acting hostile towards them after he survived.

“After she was unsuccessful in killing my babies she was not responding to me,” the mother told the newspaper.

“She changed totally. I think she was very annoyed with us because she didn’t succeed in killing our babies. She was very, very frustrated.”

At the time, the couple had no idea that Baby L’s life had also been in danger, they revealed.

“We only knew about Baby L when the police came to our house and said ‘your second child is also involved with Lucy’... We did know about Baby M but we hadn’t a clue about Baby L,” the mother said, adding “we broke down” after learning Letby had tried to murder both their children.

The couple said that the guilty verdict “provides a bit of closure” and that they’re hoping Letby receives a life sentence for her crimes.

The court heard prosecutors have been unable to say why Lucy Letby murdered seven babies (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
The court heard prosecutors have been unable to say why Lucy Letby murdered seven babies (Elizabeth Cook/PA) (PA Wire)

During the trial, jurors heard how Letby texted her mother to place a bet on Grand National, shortly after trying to kill Baby L.

On the same day, Letby also sent WhatsApp messages to her friends about plans for a housewarming party.

Lucy Letby’s reign of terror at the Countess of Chester Hospital went undetected initially (Jacok King/PA)
Lucy Letby’s reign of terror at the Countess of Chester Hospital went undetected initially (Jacok King/PA) (PA Wire)

The parents also told The Telegraph one of their sons, now seven, has suffered brain damage from what Letby did.

“He may deviate from his peers. At the moment, if you look at him, he’s just like a normal child so it is just something we will have to keep monitoring over the years as the years progress,” the father explained.

The couple said they had tried talking to their sons about Letby, but that the boys were still too young to understand what had happened to them.

“They make a joke, we will kick her, we will bite her, we will pull her hair, mummy. They don’t understand yet,” the mother said, adding she and her husband will explain the horrific ordeal to their sons again when they are older.

“But it’s important that they know this happened to them and they don’t hear it from a third party or something.”

One of Britain’s worst criminals, Letby is due to be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court next Monday.

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