Lucy Letby: Chronology of the killer nurse’s attacks on babies and investigation

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Lucy Letby was sentenced to life imprisonment for the attempted murder of a seventh baby – a year after she was sentenced to 14 life terms for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more.

The 34-year-old nurse was found guilty at Manchester Crown Court of assaulting the newborn during a night shift in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in February 2016.

Last August, at the same court, another jury found her guilty of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six other people at the facility between June 2015 and June 2016.

Here are the most important facts about the investigation against Lucy Letby:

June 8, 2015 – MURDER: Child A is born six weeks premature and handed over to Letby during her night shift. His condition “deteriorates rapidly” and he dies within 90 minutes of Letby coming on duty.

June 8-11 – ATTEMPTED MURDER: Letby injects air into the lungs of Child A’s twin sister, Child B – and survives after resuscitation.

June 14 – MURDER: Child C, born seven weeks premature, dies from complications after an injection of air into his stomach. Letby stands in front of his monitor as his alarm sounds.

June 22 – MURDER : Child D, a full-term girl, dies 36 hours after birth in the Countess of Chester Hospital. Letby had injected air into the child’s bloodstream.

End of June/July: A meeting is held between the lead neonatal physician, Dr Stephen Brearey, and the nursing manager, Alison Kelly, and other managers to discuss an informal investigation by Dr Brearey into the death of Child D. His findings reveal a “link” with nurse Lucy Letby and her presence at the recent collapses.

August 4 – MURDER: Child E dies after air is injected into his bloodstream. The baby’s mother interrupts Letby’s attack, but does not notice.

August 5 – ATTEMPTED MURDER : The blood sugar level of a premature baby boy, Child F, drops dangerously low and a blood sample is sent to the Royal Liverpool Hospital for testing. The baby survives.

September 7 – ATTEMPTED MURDER: Letby leaves Baby G with severe disabilities and attempts to murder her twice, the second time on September 21, by supplying air through her nasogastric tube.

October 23 – MURDER: Child I, a premature girl, dies on the ward. In an email, some consultants again express their concerns.

February 8, 2016: A ‘thematic’ investigation by an independent neonatologist at Liverpool Women’s Hospital takes place. The investigation, commissioned by Dr Brearey, finds no reason for the increased number of deaths and collapses, but concerns for Letby remain as the report is passed on to Director of Nursing Mrs Kelly and Medical Director Ian Harvey.

February 17 – ATTEMPTED MURDER: Child K is admitted to the intensive care unit of the neonatal unit after his premature birth. Letby disconnects the baby’s breathing tube. The baby is admitted to hospital and dies three days later.

April 9 – 2x attempted murder: Another young person, Child L, experiences hypoglycaemia, where his blood sugar levels drop. At about the same time, his twin brother, Child M, collapses unexpectedly and requires full resuscitation before recovering. A blood sample from Child L is sent to the Royal Liverpool Hospital for testing.

June 3 – ATTEMPTED MURDER: Child N, a newborn boy with hemophilia, is attacked by Letby, who pushes a nasogastric tube down his throat.

June 24 – MURDER x 2: Child P, one of triplets, collapses and dies on the ward one day after the death of his newborn brother, Child O. Dr Brearey calls the duty manager, Karen Rees, a senior nurse in the emergency care department, to tell her that he and his consultant colleagues do not want Letby to take over their next shift on 25 June, but she refuses the request.

June 25 – Attempted murder: Ninety minutes into Letby’s day shift, Child Q, a premature baby, requires respiratory support after his blood oxygen levels and heart rate drop significantly, but he makes a full recovery.

29 June: Consultants meet to discuss recent “unexplained” events and then ask hospital management to release Letby from the ward for safety reasons.

June 30th: Letby works her last nursing shift in the neonatal unit.

7th of July: The hospital management is reducing the service in the neonatal unit by reducing the number of beds and raising the admission limit for gestational age from a minimum of 27 weeks to 32 weeks.

15th of July: An email is sent to all nursing staff informing them that they will undergo clinical monitoring – after medical director Mr Harvey asked the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) to conduct a review of the unit’s services. The email states: “Lucy has agreed to undergo this monitoring on Monday 18 July.”

July 19: Letby takes an administrative position on the hospital’s Patient Experience Team.

7th of September: Letby begins a formal grievance procedure against her employer. Around this time, the Royal College of Nursing union writes to her informing her of allegations relating to her involvement in a number of deaths.

November 2016: The RCPCH says it has found no obvious factors linking a total of eight deaths on the neonatal unit in 2015 and five deaths up to July 2016. However, it did uncover significant gaps in doctor and nurse rosters and inadequate staffing to provide longer-term, high-dependency care and some critical care.

18 May 2017: Cheshire Police have announced they have launched an investigation after “a significant number of baby deaths and collapses” occurred at the hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. The investigation will focus on eight deaths and will also examine seven other deaths and six non-fatal collapses.

July 3, 2018: Letby is arrested at her home in Westbourne Road, Chester, at 6am and officers search the three-bedroom property. Her parents’ home in Hereford and her workplace in the hospital’s risk and patient safety office are also searched. Police say the investigation has now expanded to include 17 deaths and 15 non-fatal collapses between March 2015 and July 2016.

10 June 2019: Letby is arrested again in her parents’ house.

10 November 2020: Letby is rearrested before arraignment and appears in court for the first time two days later.

October 4, 2022: Letby is on trial at Manchester Crown Court accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of ten more.

21 August 2023: Letby was sentenced to 14 life terms after a jury found her guilty of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others. She was found not guilty on two counts of attempted murder. No verdict was reached on six counts of attempted murder.

May 24, 2024: Letby fails in her attempt to appeal her convictions for murder and attempted murder.

12th of June: Retrial for attempted murder; the jury was unable to reach a verdict in the previous trial.

2nd July: Letby found guilty of attempted murder of child K.

5th July: Letby was sentenced to life imprisonment for the attempted murder of child K.