LONDON (AP) — British investigators have questioned nurse Lucy Letby, who is serving a life sentence for killing seven babies, about the deaths of several more.
Cheshire Police said on Wednesday that Letby had been questioned in prison over baby deaths and “non-fatal collapses” at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where she worked, and Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student.
Police said Letby was interviewed “under caution,” meaning the interview was recorded and could be used in future prosecutions.
The 34-year-old nurse was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing seven babies and trying to kill seven others in 2015 and 2016 while working as a neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital in north-west England.
Prosecutors said she harmed babies in ways that left little trace, including injecting air into their bloodstreams, administering air or milk into their stomachs through nasogastric tubes, poisoning them with insulin and interfering with breathing tubes.
Detectives are now investigating the care of approximately 4,000 babies who were hospitalized while Letby worked as a neonatal nurse.
Letby, who has said she never harmed a child, has continued to proclaim her innocence and tried unsuccessfully to appeal her conviction.
Some scholars and legal experts have questioned aspects of the circumstantial and statistical evidence used during her trial, and supporters have pushed for a review of the case.
A judge-led public inquiry is underway to investigate whether the hospital failed to recognize why babies died in the neonatal unit and stop Letby earlier. It does not review Letby’s convictions.
Dr. Stephen Brearey, the senior pediatrician in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital, told the inquiry last month that Letby probably killed or attacked more babies before killing her first known victim, a premature twin known as Baby. A, in June 2015.
“On reflection, I think it’s likely that Letby did not become a murderer in June 2015, or start harming babies in June 2015,” he said.
The Associated Press
