- Nurse appears in court on Monday after being charged with murdering eight babies and trying to kill nine others.
- She appeared before court via videolink from custody at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey.
- Hospital where she worked raised concerns about high number of deaths between March 2015 and July 2016 so police intervened.
SURREY: A 30-year-old nurse, Lucy Letby, appeared in court on Monday, after she had been charged with murdering eight babies and trying to kill nine others.
In November 2020, she was arrested for a third time after a three-year probe into the deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit, The Sun reported.
On Monday, she appeared before the court through videolink from custody at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey. The 50-minute hearing was watched by the family members from Chester Crown Court.
Letby was charged for killing 17 babies aged under one — with one alleged victim falling under both murder and attempted murder count. She has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.
The hospital raised concerns about the high number of deaths between March 2015 and July 2016 so police launched a probe.
An internal inquiry was undertaken when medics found premature babies had died following heart and lung failure.
When she was arrested, a friend quoted her as a “professional nurse” who was dedicated to her “dream job”.
Robyn Smith, of Slater and Gordon, representing two of the families, said: “We await the outcome of the criminal proceedings and will of course be supporting our clients through this traumatic process.”
