The Text Messages UK Nurse Sent As She Murdered 7 Newborns
Letby is taken from her house in handcuffs after being arrested by Cheshire Police.
Lucy Letby, the British nurse convicted on Friday for the murder of seven newborn babies and the attempted murder of six others in the neonatal unit of the hospital where she was employed, has now become the most prolific child killer in the UK’s modern history.
However, as Letby killed infants by injecting air into their bloodstreams or feeding tubes, overfeeding them with milk, or poisoning them with insulin, she was also sending disturbing messages to colleagues that eventually served as crucial evidence against her.
Also read | “I Am Evil…”: British Nurse Guilty Of Killing 7 Newborns In A Year
Her text messages revealed that she had contacted her colleagues following the infants’ deaths and, in response, received sympathy from unaware staff members. The messages also indicated that she volunteered to take on additional shifts in the neonatal intensive therapy unit (ITU) at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
As reported by the BBC, the unsettling text messages illustrate her reactions as concerns escalated regarding the sudden increase in infant fatalities in the hospital.
Here are excerpts of text messages that Lucy Letby sent to her colleagues over the course of her 12-month period of heinous actions at the hospital.
June 9, 2015
On June 8th, Letby claimed her first victim, identified as Baby A. Following that incident, she messaged colleagues, expressing her reluctance to go back and face the parents.
They also had Baby B, whom she attacked sometime before June 11.
She said: Dad was on the floor crying, saying please don’t take our baby away when I took him to the mortuary; it’s just heartbreaking.” It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
On June 11, 2015, merely three days after the killing of Baby A, Letby contacted a manager and requested to take on extra shifts.
She said: From a confidence point of view, I need to take an ITU baby soon X.
June 13 2015
She messaged a colleague: I just keep thinking about Mon (death of Child A). Feel like I need to be in (room) 1 to overcome it… to get the image out of my head. It probably sounds odd, but it’s how I feel.
She later added: Only those who saw him know what image I have in my head.
Just six minutes after their conversation ended, baby C, a baby boy, became severely unwell and died.
June 14, 2015:
Letby engaged in another conversation with the same colleague she had spoken to the previous night.
She said: I just keep seeing them both. No one should have to see & do the things we do. It’s heart-breaking. But it’s not about me. We learn to deal with it. It’s not about me or anyone else, it’s those poor parents who have to walk away without their baby.
June 22 2015, the day after the death of Baby D, Letby once again reached out to her colleagues.
She said: On a day to day basis it’s an incredible job with so many positives. But sometimes I think, how do such sick babies get through & others just die so suddenly and unexpectedly? Guess it’s how it’s meant to be… I think there is an element of fate involved. There is a reason for everything.
On June 30, 2015, a nurse raised questions over the sudden changes in the health of babies.
Nurse: There’s something odd about that night and the other three that went so suddenly.
Letby: Well, Baby C was tiny and obviously compromised in utero. Baby D is septic. It’s Baby A that I can’t get my head around.
August 4, 2015
During the early hours of the morning, Baby E dies, while his twin brother, Baby F, remains in the ward. A colleague sends a message to Letby, inquiring whether she has been responsible for looking after them.
Letby: ‘News travels fast. Who told you?’
‘Yeah I had them both. Was horrible.’
Nurse: ‘I just really feel for his parents but for you too. You’ve had some really tough times recently.’
Letby: ‘Not a lot I can do really. He had massive haemorrhage could have happened to any baby x.’
August 5, 2015
The day after Baby E’s death, Baby F experienced a critical decline in health.
Letby: I said goodbye to Baby F’s parents, as Baby F might go tomorrow. They both cried and hugged me, saying they would never be able to thank me for the love and care I gave to Baby F and for the precious memories I’ve given them. It’s heartbreaking
Nurse: It is heartbreaking, but you’ve done your job to the highest standard with compassion and professionalism. […]
Letby: I just feel sad that they are thanking me when they have lost him and for something that any of us would have done. But it’s really nice to know that I got it right for them. That’s all I want.
September 26 2015
Letby responded to a manager’s encouraging remark five days after attempting to kill Baby G.
Letby: That’s really nice to hear as I gather you are aware of some of the not so positive comments that have been made recently regarding my role which I have found quite upsetting.
Our job is a pleasure to do and just hope I do the best for the babies and their Family [sic].
September 30 2015
Letby: Need to try and sort off duty as working the Wed before your wedding when wanted whole week off to help you. Can’t believe it’s a month away!!! X
October 13 2015
Baby I fell critically ill, and Letby requested to the shift leader, “I’d like to keep her, please.”
The subsequent week, during another overnight shift of Letby’s, Baby I died.
Over the course of several months, more infants under Letby’s care fall ill.
June 23, 2016
Lucy Letby killed Baby O.
June 24, 2016
Letby killed Baby P.
June 25, 2016
Letby messaged her doctor friend.
Letby: ‘Do I need to be worried about what Dr Gibbs was asking?’
Doctor: ‘No. He was asking to make sure that normal procedures were being carried out.’
Doctor: You are one of a few nurses across the region (I’ve worked pretty much everywhere) that I would trust with my own children.
July 6, 2016
The doctor discloses information about a meeting held to discuss the deaths of Baby O and Baby P, sharing the details with Letby: ‘You need to keep this to yourself.
‘There is absolutely nothing for you to worry about. Please don’t.
‘There are going to be some recommendations based on staffing and kit, but there was no criticism of either resuscitation.’
July 7, 2016
Doctor: ‘I know you won’t say anything; this email has to stay between us; is that ok?’
Letby: ‘Of course. 100%’.
July 15, 2016
An email is sent to all staff members, notifying them that they will receive clinical supervision in preparation for an external review focused on the deaths within the unit.
July 16, 2016
Letby texts a colleague: ‘Hoping to get as much info together as possible-if they have nothing or minimal on me, they’ll look silly, not me.’
Now the police are investigating Letby’s entire tenure at the Countess of Chester and at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she also previously worked, sifting through more than 4,000 neo-natal unit admissions between 2012 and 2016.
Her case revived memories of two of Britain’s infamous medical murderers, doctor Harold Shipman and nurse Beverley Allitt.
Shipman, a general practitioner, hanged himself in prison in 2004, four years after being convicted of killing 15 of his patients.
A later public inquiry concluded that he killed about 250 patients with lethal morphine injections between 1971 and 1998.
Allitt, a nurse dubbed the “angel of death,” was jailed for life in 1993 after being convicted of murdering four young children in her care, attempting to murder three others, and other offences.
(With inputs from agencies)
