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Killer nurse Lucy Letby experimented with various techniques to hurt babies, medical expert claims

According to Dr. Dewi Evans, Lucy Letby used hard-to-detect methods to carry out the murders

Updated on: Sep 24, 2023, 09:25:22 IST
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Killer nurse Lucy Letby experimented with multiple techniques to hurt babies during her career, the chief medical expert at her trial claimed. Lucy has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of release for killing seven babies in her care, and attempting to kill six others as a neonatal nurse in Chester Hospital in Cheshire, England. The 33-year-old is now being considered one of the most prolific child killers in the history of the United Kingdom.

A handout image taken from police bodycam footage released by Cheshire Constabulary police force in Manchester on August 17, 2023, shows the nurse Lucy Letby being arrested at home in Chester on July 3, 2018 (Photo by Cheshire Constabulary / AFP) (AFP)
A handout image taken from police bodycam footage released by Cheshire Constabulary police force in Manchester on August 17, 2023, shows the nurse Lucy Letby being arrested at home in Chester on July 3, 2018 (Photo by Cheshire Constabulary / AFP) (AFP)

According to Dr. Dewi Evans, Lucy used hard-to-detect methods to carry out the murders. Among her barbaric acts, she displaced tubes and injected air into her victims.

Dewi said he was asked to review the notes of 48 babies, of which he found 18 cases very concerning. None of these were included in the trial.

Many of the cases he found concerning involved babies who had breathing tubes removed or displaced in 2014. The doctor believes these were the methods Lucy initially preferred for harming them. “For so many breathing tubes to come out, and they can come out accidentally, but for so many to come out over such a short period of time in what I consider to be a good neonatal department, that is very concerning,” he told The Sunday Telegraph, adding that one case even involved an insulin poisoning death.

‘There are undoubtedly more cases of insulin poisoning’

“It wouldn’t surprise me if she committed another insulin poisoning or two where doctors didn’t measure the insulin level after death,” said Dewi. “If you do not measure the insulin level then you can’t know whether there was foul play. There are undoubtedly more cases of insulin poisoning.”

Lucy once attended a training course that highlighted the dangers of air embolism, following which her murders began to pile up. According to NHS, “An air or gas embolism is a bubble that becomes trapped in a blood vessel and blocks it.” It adds, “Air or gas embolisms can cause serious and potentially fatal conditions, such as a stroke or heart attack.”

“As far as I am aware, there were no air embolism deaths before she went on that course,” Dewi said. “It was after she discovered that method, the deaths really increased.”

It has been revealed that multiple warnings about Lucy went unheeded by the hospital. Shockingly, the Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust contacted the Cheshire Constabulary, which is the police force responsible for the area, only in early May 2017. This was about a year and a half after doctors at the hospital began raising suspicions about the babies’ deaths.

Prosecutors are set to announce whether Lucy will face a new trial over six outstanding attempted murder charges. Previously, the jury failed to reach a verdict on these charges.

  • Sumanti Sen
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Sumanti Sen

    Sumanti Sen covers everything that’s happening in the US, from politics to entertainment, but her expertise lies in covering crime news. She has comprehensively chronicled the Idaho student murders, the Laken Riley and Iryna Zarutska cases, and the killing of Charlie Kirk, among other incidents. Over the years, she has interviewed several victims/families of victims of crimes seeking justice. She digs up stories that might otherwise remain unheard, and does her bit to ensure that victims and survivors’ voices are heard. Sumanti’s many years of experience also include interviews with Hamas attack survivors and mental health experts, among others. Her coverage of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and interviews with survivors of the tragedy, coupled with her other works including the Titan submersible coverage, earned her the Digi Journo of the Quarter award during her first year at Hindustan Times. Sumanti actively tracks missing person cases in the United States, and peruses Reddit and other social media platforms to bring to light cases that frequently elude public attention. She has extensively covered the disappearances of Nancy Guthrie, Thomas Medlin, Beau Mann, and Sudiksha Konanki, among others. When not at work, you will either find her with her novels, or with her beloved rescue pooches.Read More

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