Former nurse Lucy Letby denies attempting to murder premature baby by displacing her breathing tube, despite claims by prosecutors that she was caught "virtually red-handed."
Lucy Letby's trial at Manchester Crown Court in England is expected to last up to six months as prosecutors present evidence against her. Letby is accused of tampering with the breathing tube of a premature baby known as "Baby K" while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neonatal unit in 2016.
The prosecution alleges that Letby displaced Baby K's endotracheal tube just two hours after her birth, leading to a drop in her blood oxygen levels and the failure of monitor alarms to sound. However, Letby denies harming the baby, claiming that it was hospital policy to wait and see if infants "self-correct" rather than intervene immediately.
Trial Resumes for Alleged Neonatal Killer Nurse Lucy Letby, Accused of Tampering with Baby's Breathing Tube
Dr. Ravi Jayaram, a senior doctor, testified that he caught Letby "virtually red-handed" when he entered the nursery's intensive care room and observed her doing nothing to help Baby K as her oxygen levels plummeted. Letby allegedly also attempted to interfere with the infant's replacement tubes on two other occasions during the same shift.
Nursing advisory consultant Elizabeth Morgan stated that it would not be standard nursing practice to allow a premature baby like Baby K to "self-correct" due to her extreme vulnerability. However, Letby maintained that this was the policy at the hospital.
Trial Resumes for Alleged Neonatal Killer Nurse Lucy Letby, Accused of Tampering with Baby's Breathing Tube
Prosecutor Nick Johnson questioned the applicability of this policy to infants as premature as Baby K, but Letby insisted that it applied to all infants. Johnson accused Letby of lying, claiming that she was caught by Dr. Jayaram while attempting to tamper with the breathing tube, but she denied this.
Letby testified that she had no specific memory of Baby K, but her Facebook records showed that she searched for the family's surname two years after the child had left the neonatal unit and ten weeks before her first police interview. Johnson suggested that this indicated Letby had a specific recollection of the baby, which she denied.
Trial Resumes for Alleged Neonatal Killer Nurse Lucy Letby, Accused of Tampering with Baby's Breathing Tube
Johnson confronted Letby directly, asking whether she had attempted to kill Baby K, followed by six other infants, and succeeded in murdering seven others. Letby answered in the negative each time.
Baby K was eventually referred to a specialist hospital due to her extreme prematurity and died there three days later. The prosecution does not accuse Letby of causing her death.
Trial Resumes for Alleged Neonatal Killer Nurse Lucy Letby, Accused of Tampering with Baby's Breathing Tube
The trial resumes next Monday, when a judge will summarize the facts of the case to the jury before closing arguments from both sides. The jury is expected to deliberate and reach a verdict on the charges against Letby.
