Nurse charged with allegedly murdering eight babies in hospital
A nurse has been charged with the alleged murder of eight babies while working at a UK hospital.
Lucy Letby, 30, was initially arrested in 2018 and 2019 as investigators looked into the deaths of newborns in the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neo-natal unit, according to BBC.
She was rearrested on Tuesday (local time) and charged with murder and the attempted murder of another 10 babies.
The charges stem from baby deaths and non-fatal collapses that occurred at the hospital for a year beginning on June 2015, the publication reported.
The 30-year-old is due to appear in court on Thursday (local time).
Families desperately seeking answers on what happened to babies
Cheshire Police Detective Inspector Paul Hughes told BBC after Ms Letby’s arrest earlier this week that the “parents of all the babies have been left fully updated.”
"This is an extremely difficult time for all the families and it is important to remember that, at the heart of this, there are a number of bereaved families seeking answers as to what happened to their children,” he said.
When detectives initially launched their investigation in 2017, they were focusing on the deaths of 15 children, but later widened to 17 babies and non-fatal collapses of 16 others, the BBC said.
In 2015, the Countess of Chester Hospital’s death rate for babies was 10 per cent higher than that at in other maternity wards, The Sun reported.
Eight babies died that year compared to just two infants in 2013 - the same year Ms Letby spoke of her love for her job during a local newspaper interview.
She told the publication she worked at the hospital’s neo-natal unit as a student nurse and continued after graduating.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
