The trial of former neo-natal nurse Lucy Letby continues at the Manchester Crown Court.
Letby is accused of murdering 5 boys and 2 girls, as well as the attempted murder of 10 other infants. The alleged crimes took place at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016.
Today’s proceedings in court related to the murder of a baby girl, know as ‘Child I’. Prosecutors allege 32 year old Letby tried to kill the baby by injecting oxygen into her bloodstream, and succeeded on the fourth attempt.
A statement from the child’s mother was read in court. She explained that her baby had been born premature but noticed she was starting to improve. ‘She looked like a full-term baby. She didn’t look frail or small.’ Progress was so good, she even able to bathe her baby for the first time, allowing Letby to take photos of the happy event using her mobile phone.
On the day of her baby’s death she was called to hospital to find Letby and two other nurses trying to resucitate the child. It was not successful.
After her baby had died, she was offered the chance to bathe the body again for a final time, to which she and her partner agreed. Letby entered the bathroom and offered to take photos again. ‘She [Letby] was smiling and kept going on about how she was present at the first bath and how [Child I] had loved it.’
The mother’s statement went on to say she just wished Letby would stop talking. ‘Eventually she realized and stopped. It was not something we wanted to hear.’
The trial continues.
