Former nurse Lucy Letby found guilty of attempting to murder premature baby girl named Baby K by dislodging her breathing tube in first hours of her life.
Lucy Letby has already been convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others at Countess of Chester Hospital's neo-natal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.
Former nurse Lucy Letby, who has already been convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neo-natal unit between June 2015 and June 2016, was found guilty on July 2, 2024, of attempting to murder a premature baby girl named Baby K by dislodging her breathing tube. The incident occurred in the first hours of Baby K's life.
Letby showed no emotion during the trial and was described as a
Lucy Letby was found guilty of trying to kill a premature baby girl named Baby K by dislodging her breathing tube.
Letby had already been convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neo-natal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.
Baby K died three days later in a specialist hospital due to extreme prematurity and severe respiratory distress syndrome.
Letby searched for Baby K’s surname on Facebook more than two years later.
Accuracy
Letby was caught ‘virtually red-handed’ when a doctor walked into the room and found her displacing Baby K’s breathing tube.
Baby K died three days later due to extreme prematurity and severe respiratory distress syndrome.
Letby dislodged the tube a further two times over the following few hours in an attempt to cover her tracks and suggest that the first dislodgment was accidental.
Letby had previously been convicted of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others.
, Letby was caught ‘virtually red-handed’ when a doctor walked into the room and found her displacing Baby K’s breathing tube.
, Letby dislodged the tube a further two times over the following few hours in an attempt to cover her tracks and suggest that the first dislodgment was accidental.
, Letby searched for Baby K’s surname on Facebook more than two years later.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(0%)
The article contains several examples of deception. Firstly, the author uses emotional manipulation by describing the parents' reaction to the verdict and their statement being read out. Secondly, there is selective reporting as only details that support Letby's guilt are reported without mentioning any potential exonerating evidence or context. Thirdly, there is sensationalism in the title 'Serial killer nurse found guilty of attempted murder of extremely premature baby'. Lastly, the author makes no attempt to disclose sources and instead quotes statements from various individuals without attribution.
Ms Wyn Williams added.
The family of the baby girl, known as Child K, has had their statement read out following the trial at Manchester Crown Court
Letby showed no emotion in the dock.
During the retrial, Letby denied she had ever intended or tried to harm any baby in her care. She said she had no recollection of the incident with Baby K but said: 'I know I did nothing to interfere.'
Last August, Letby was sentenced to 14 whole life orders after the jury found her guilty at the end of a 10-month trial.
A public inquiry into events at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit will begin to hear evidence in September.
Dr Nigel Scawn, medical director at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said:
Lucy Letby was convicted of attempting to kill a baby girl named Child K in February 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Letby removed the baby’s breathing support and did nothing as the child struggled, then attempted to cover her tracks by dislodging the tube again.
Senior Prosecutor Nicola Wyn Williams stated that Letby removed Child K’s breathing tube and showed no emotion when she was found guilty.
Accuracy
]British neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of attempting to kill a baby girl named Child K in February 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital.[
Letby, who is serving a life sentence for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others, showed no emotion as she was found guilty of trying to remove the breathing tube from Child K’s incubator.
Senior Prosecutor Nicola Wyn Williams stated that Letby removed the baby’s breathing support and did nothing as the child struggled, then attempted to cover her tracks by dislodging the tube again.
Letby was serving 14 whole-life prison terms for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others.
Letby tampered with Baby K’s breathing tube twice more in the following hours, causing further concern for her colleagues.
Detectives are analyzing the records of about 4,000 babies cared for by Letby during her time as a children’s nurse at Liverpool Women’s hospital and the Countess of Chester.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(0%)
The article contains several examples of deceptive practices. First, the author uses emotional manipulation by describing the parents' reaction to the verdict and their statement as heartbreaking and unimaginable. Second, there is selective reporting as only details that support Letby's guilt are reported, such as her being caught 'virtually red-handed' tampering with Baby K's breathing tube. Third, the author uses sensationalism by describing Letby as a 'cold-blooded, calculated killer.' Lastly, there is no disclosure of sources in the article.
Letby was caught virtually red-handed trying to kill Baby K.
Nicola Wyn Williams described Letby's actions as those of a cold-blooded, calculated killer.
The family said they were heartbroken, devastated, angry and feel numb.
Fallacies
(95%)
One informal fallacy found: an appeal to authority. The article repeatedly mentions Letby's conviction and the fact that she was a trained nurse, implying that her actions are more shocking and unbelievable because of her professional background. Additionally, there is a slight overgeneralization when the author states 'senior doctors had linked her to a number of unexplained incidents but she remained on the neonatal unit for a further five months'. This could be interpreted as implying that Letby was allowed to continue working due to senior doctors' incompetence, although it doesn't directly make that claim.
A trained nurse responsible for caring and protecting a tiny, premature baby abused that position of trust in the most unthinkable way.
senior doctors had linked her to a number of unexplained incidents but she remained on the neonatal unit for a further five months.
The continued denials have caused significant upset for Baby K’s family as they have had to endure a trial and subsequent re-trial.
