A Nurse-Child Killer in Britain Has Been Sentenced to Life Imprisonment
A British court in Manchester has sentenced nurse Lucy Lethby to life imprisonment for the "sadistic murders" of 7 newborns and attempted murders of six more children. She is not eligible for pardon or early release.
This was reported by The Guardian.
Letby has already been dubbed the "most horrifying" child serial killer in all of Great Britain.
During a 10-month investigation, it was revealed that 33-year-old Lucy Letby inflicted fatal harm on infants at moments when their parents were away from the children, and no medical staff were present.
According to the investigation, the woman chose sadistic methods of killing newborns. During her shifts, she injected air into the blood vessels of the children using a syringe, overfed them, or introduced air into their stomach through a tube, as well as administered insulin that was not prescribed by doctors.
Furthermore, the investigation revealed that Lucy Letby kept hundreds of medical documents with detailed descriptions of events related to the crimes and documentation of her own actions towards her victims.
At the same time, the nurse-killer showed no empathetic emotions during the resuscitation of the children she harmed. On the contrary, she made "cruel and heartless" remarks to parents or colleagues at work.
The prosecution describes Letby's actions as a "cruel, calculated, and cynical campaign of child murders, targeting the smallest and most vulnerable children."
The motives behind Letby's actions are currently unknown to anyone. Prosecutor Nicholas Johnson believes that the nurse derived pleasure from "playing God" and amused herself at the moment when doctors began to save the infants harmed by her.
Lucy Letby herself declared her innocence in court, but when the verdict was announced, she refused to participate in the court session, remaining in her cell. According to one of the mothers of the deceased children, such actions are the "final act of a cowardly thief."
The same opinion is held by the law firm representing the families of all seven victims.
"The fact that she doesn't take responsibility for the consequences of her actions shows her complete disregard not only for the damage she caused but also for our judicial system," said Tamlin Bolton, an attorney at the Switalskis law firm.
Justice Minister Alex Chalk stated that the actions of the criminal indicate the need to change the law so that the "worst offenders are present in court to face justice during sentencing."
Lucy Letby became only the third woman to receive such a severe punishment. The same punishment was given to Rose West, who killed at least 9 young women in the 70s and 80s of the last century, and to Joanna Dennehy, who killed three men in 2013, and her case was dubbed the "Peterborough Ditch Murders."