Lucy Letby: Nurse appears in court charged with murdering eight babies at Chester hospital

Lucy Letby, 30, has been charged with eight counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder over baby deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit

Letby was previously arrested in 2018 (Chester Standard/SWNS)

A nurse has appeared in court charged with the murder of eight babies and the attempted murder of another 10.

Lucy Letby was remanded in custody after appearing via video link at Warrington Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

The 30-year-old faces eight counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder relating to the period between June 2015 and June 2016.

She was arrested for a third time on Tuesday as part of an investigation into baby deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit which began in 2017.

Letby joined the 10-minute hearing via video link from Blacon police station, Chester. She sat behind a desk next to her solicitor, Richard Thomas, and only spoke to confirm her name, date of birth and her home address of Arran Avenue, Hereford.

Families of the victims watched the proceedings via a video link at remote locations.

It took just over two-and-a-half minutes for District Judge Sanders to read out all the charges but no pleas were entered and Letby will appear at Chester Crown Court at 2.15pm on Friday.  

The judge, addressing the defendant, said: "Today's court hearing is for a number of matters. I won't be taking any plea today, as I'm sure Mr Thomas has discussed with you.

"These are matters allocated to the crown court, today is a preliminary hearing to send to the crown court."

On Tuesday, Chester Police said parents of all the babies involved were being kept fully updated on developments and were supported by officers.

Additional reporting by PA