Nurse Lucy Letby, deemed the most prolific child serial killer in contemporary British history, is set to spend her life in prison due to a whole life order pronounced during a hearing she chose not to attend.
Judge Mr. Justice Goss administered the unusual sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of release at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, asserting, "You will spend the rest of your life in prison."
Following her conviction on Friday for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others during her tenure in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016, the 33-year-old was found to have intentionally injected newborns with air, force-fed them milk, or poisoned them with insulin.
Meanwhile, an autonomous investigation will delve into the circumstances that enabled Lucy Letby to commit the murders of seven infants under her care, amid concerns from the police that she might have targeted additional newborns over the course of her career.
Having commenced her baby-killing spree during the summer of 2015, Lucy Letby managed to retain her job on the ward for a whole year. It wasn't until July 2017 that hospital authorities initiated a police investigation, even though Letby had already claimed the lives of seven infants and attempted to murder six more.
Paediatrician whistleblowers, Stephen Brearey and Ravi Jayaram, contended that lives could have been spared had the hospital acted promptly. They condemned the trust's response as a cover-up. Instead of removing Letby from direct patient care, the trust directed the two doctors to issue an apology letter to the nurse for the alleged "stress and upset" caused by their formal bullying complaint.
Dr Ravi Jayaram asserted that the lives of several infants might have been preserved had his apprehensions about former nurse colleague Lucy Letby been taken seriously and prompt police intervention initiated. Following the verdict, Dr Jayaram conveyed to ITV News in a televised interview that he sincerely believes there are four or five children who could be attending school today had timely action been taken.
Despite her guilt, Letby communicated to her legal team the previous week that she would abstain from participating in the hearing. The judge clarified that the court lacked authority to mandate a defendant's presence at a sentencing.
