Lucy Letby
Lucy Letby was once a seemingly normal young woman working as a neonatal nurse*, burdened by the emotional weight of her patient’s deaths. Now her name carries the weight of her crimes as she is known as one of the most prolific child serial killers the UK has ever seen. How did a supposedly upstanding member of our society fall so far and what does this say about potential flaws in the UK healthcare system?
What did she do?
In July 2018, Lucy Letby - aged 28 at the time - was arrested following an investigation by the
Cheshire police involving nearly 70 officers and civilian staff. She was accused of murdering 7 babies and attempting to murder 10 others between June 2015 and 2017 and in August 2023, Lucy Letby was found guilty of these crimes (1) , her methods including injecting the babies with insulin or air or force feeding them milk. (2).
What was her background?
Lucy Letby had a fairly average upbringing: she was born on 4th January 1990 and grew up in Hereford with her parents John and Susan. She worked hard in school in order to achieve her aspirations and went on to study at the University of Cheshire, being the first member of her family to attend university. She was described as “a normal twenty something-year-old, doing what she was doing with her friends”. (3).
There currently are no indication in Letby’s life of an abusive or distressing childhood, as a result, many people have begun to suspect that her crimes indicate possible psychopathy. (4) Evidence for these speculations came from her behaviour in court which appeared cold and impassive as testimonies of her crimes were given. Criminal psychologist, Dr David Holmes, noted that Letby has “no empathy for others'' and that she was born with psychopathic tendencies. (5)
Is this the first time something like this happened?
Unfortunately, Lucy Letby is not the first nurse to commit such horrific crimes. Her methods of murder were similar to those of Beverley Allitt - a serial killer convicted of murdering 4 infants, attempting to murder 3 others and causing harm to 6 more at Grantham and Kesteven hospital in Lincolnshire between February and April 1991. She was nicknamed ‘the angel of death’ and was considered one of the worst child serial killers before Lucy Letby.
What are the effects of this?
This case was an eye opener for the NHS as it uncovered the deficiencies of regulations regarding whistleblowing and patient’s safety. (6) As a result, a statutory inquiry is being conducted and many measures are being proposed to address these problems. It also highlights the importance of listening to the staff and patient’s concerns in order to improve patient’s safety and ensure they are receiving adequate care. (7)
Glossary
* Neonatal nurse- A nurse that works with newborn infants who are premature or sick.
Written by Sophiat
Moderated by Adelene
References
1. People (2022) ‘Baby Girl was allegedly Force fed ‘massive’ amounts of milk by nurse accused of killing 7 infants’. Available from:
https://people.com/crime/baby-girl-allegedly-force-fed-milk-nurse-accused-killing-7-infants/
[Accessed 22 July 2024]
2. Al Jazeera (2023) ‘British nurse Lucy Letby to appeal convictions for killing seven babies’
Available from:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/15/uk-neonatal-nurse-lucy-letby-to-appeal-convictio
n-for-killing-seven-babies#:~:text=Letby%20killed%20the%20infants%20at,with%20no%20
chance%20of%20release. [Accessed 30 July 2024]
3. Independent (2023) ‘Lucy Letby: How the ‘average nurse’ turned into one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers’ Available from:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/lucy-letby-parents-home-crime-sentence-b239
7177.html [Accessed 30 July 2024]
4. The Guardian (2023) ‘Lucy Letby: How did a nurse commit such unthinkable murders?’
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/18/lucy-letby-how-did-a-nurse-commit-such-unthinkable-murders [Accessed 29th July 2024]
5. Sky news (2023) ‘Lucy Letby ‘Born with psychopathic tendencies’, says criminal
psychologist’ Available from:
https://news.sky.com/video/lucy-letby-former-nurse-had-no-motive-just-psychopathic-tendencies-says-criminal-psychologist-12942568#:~:text=Criminal%20psychologist%20Dr%20Davi
d%20Holmes,was%20born%20with%20psychopathic%20tendencies. [Accessed 24th July 2024}
6. Queen Mary University of London (2024). ‘The Lucy Letby case: what does it mean for the United Kingdom’s healthcare system?’ Available from:
https://www.qmul.ac.uk/lac/our-legal-blog/items/the-lucy-letby-case-what-does-it-mean-for-the-united-kingdoms-healthcare-system.html#:~:text=Conclusion,measures%20to%20address%20these%20issues. [Accessed 29th July 2024]
7. Healthwatch (2023) ‘learning lessons from the Letby case’ Available from:
https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/blog/2023-09-21/learning-lessons-letby-case#:~:text=Failure%20that%20saw%20patients%20die,of%20both%20patients%20and%20staff . .Accessed 29th July 2024]
