British investigation into baby killer Letby begins taking evidence

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The first public hearings will take place on Tuesday as part of a public inquiry examining the further circumstances of the case of Lucy Letby, the most successful child serial killer in modern British history.

Letby was found guilty after two criminal trials in 2023 and earlier this year of the murder of seven newborns and the attempted murder of seven more babies in the neonatal unit of the hospital where she worked.

The 34-year-old former nurse is serving a life sentence for the murders, which took place between 2015 and 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England, and was denied an appeal earlier this year.

The launch of the independent inquiry – chaired by Appeal Judge Kate Thirlwall – comes amid increased scrutiny of the convictions and the announcement by Letby's new lawyer that she plans to appeal again.

Armed with powers to compel evidence, Thirlwall will also examine the wider circumstances of the case, including the response and conduct of the National Health Service (NHS), its staff and its regulators.

The event will take place at Liverpool Town Hall and will not be livestreamed. Its main aims are to “find answers for the families of the victims and ensure lessons are learned”.

Previously, a growing number of experts had raised concerns about aspects of Letby's trials, claiming that important evidence may have been misinterpreted.

Speculation about their guilt and possible future appeals is “worrying” for the victims' families, a lawyer representing them told the BBC on Monday.

Tamlin Bolton, who represents the families of six victims, also said her clients were “full of hope but also terribly afraid” before the inquest.

Letby, from Hereford in the west of England, was arrested and charged in 2020 following a series of baby deaths in the Countess of Chester's neonatal unit.

At her first trial, the prosecution alleged that she often attacked her defenseless, premature victims during night shifts by injecting them with air, overfeeding them with milk or poisoning them with insulin.

The British government announced a public inquiry into events at the state hospital in October 2023, two months after Letby's first convictions.

The hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. (09:00 GMT) on Tuesday with opening statements from the inquiry's lawyers and legal representatives of the so-called core participants.

These are persons, institutions or organizations that have a specific interest in the investigation.

The hearings are expected to last until at least the end of the year, after which Thirlwall will produce a report of her findings and recommendations, which may be published in stages or as a single document.

It cannot make any findings regarding civil or criminal liability.

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