An Angel of Death is a caregiver who abuses the trust they instil, to harm and even murder those that they are meant to be caring for.
Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash
Between 2014 and 2015, there was a sharp rise in infant deaths on the neonatal ward at the Countess of Chester Hospital, leaving Paediatric Consultants very concerned.
In 2015, the hospital, located in the North West of England, had the highest infant mortality rate of all hospitals of a similar size.
A report by Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries (MBRRACE-UK) revealed that it had a higher mortality rate than 20 out of the 26 specialist hospitals, that cater for the most vulnerable.
Several investigations followed and whilst they raised concerns about staffing levels and decision making, in a busier than usual hospital, they found “no single cause” for the higher than usual mortality rate.
On 7th July 2016, the hospital, following recommendations, “decided to downgrade its unit to no longer provide neonatal intensive care to premature babies” meaning it would no longer care for those born before 32 weeks.
They then handed the matter over to the police, something the hospital has stated, it did not do lightly but also that “we have taken the clinical review as far as we can.”
In May 2017 it was reported that the police had launched an investigation into the matter which is the first major police inquiry into child deaths in UK hospitals in nearly 30 years.
In July 2018, three years after investigations began, police arrested then 28-year-old neonatal nurse, Lucy Letby.
The Suspect
Lucy Letby was once “the face of a campaign to raise £3m” for the neonatal unit and had worked at the Countess of Chester hospital, as a children’s nurse, since her graduation from the University of Chester in 2011.
Before her graduation, she had undergone three years of training at the hospital, along with additional training at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
After her arrest, the Liverpool Women’s Trust launched an investigation for the period that Letby was training there.
However, a spokesperson for the hospital has subsequently said,
Letby was responsible for caring for babies requiring various levels of support and she was in the process of additional training to be able to nurse babies in intensive care. She had been moved to an administrative role in place of her clinical duties before being suspended in 2017.
In July 2018, after her arrest, police were pictured digging in her back garden, searching drains, removing paving stones and searching woodland next to her home. They were also pictured on the roof of a neighbours garage, which adjoined Letby’s home. What they were looking for and if they found it or not, has not been determined as of yet.
In addition, they interviewed her parents at their home in Hereford.
The Charges
Letby has been arrested three times;
On the 3rd July 2018, on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to murder six, she was bailed pending further enquiries.
On the 10th June 2019, on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to murder nine. Again, she was bailed pending further enquiries.
On the 10th November 2020. This time was charged with eight counts of murder of a child under one (five boys and three girls) and ten counts of attempted murder of a child under one (five boys and five girls) she was remanded in custody at HMP Peterborough.
Chester Police issued a statement that said,
The babies she is charged with murdering have been named as:
Cemlyn Bennett
Joseph Johnson
Barney Gee
Joseph Gelder and Eli Gelder
Daisy Parkin
Maddie Freed
Elsie McNall
The identities of the babies for whom she is charged with attempted murder are strictly confidential and they cannot be revealed for legal reasons, Although it is known that she is charged with both the attempted murder and the murder of Maddie Freed.
All of the alleged crimes took place between June 2015 and June 2016 in what has been called a “year-long killing spree.”
The arrest of Letby was called “a significant step forward” in the long, sensitive and complex investigation.
If convicted, Letby will become “Britain’s most prolific child killer.”
The Trial
Two trial dates have so far been abandoned, one for 11th January 2022 and one for 4th July 2022, due to the sheer amount of work to be undertaken.
When the trial does commence it is estimated that it will last six months.
At a pre-trial hearing on 4th October 2021, via a video link from HMP Peterborough, she pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges and another trial date was set for October 2022.
The Future
Let’s hope, whatever the outcome of this trial, the families of the babies who lost their lives, and the families of those who had near misses, will get their Justice.
I can only hope that they find those answers.
A wife who loses a husband is called a widow.
A husband who loses a wife is called a widower.
A child who loses his parents is called an orphan.
There is no word for a parent who loses a child.
That’s how awful the loss is.
Reading List & Sources
https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/19307876.proposed-trial-date-chester-nurse-lucy-letby-delayed
Comments