Lucy Letby: Inside the neonatal unit of hospital where nurse is accused of killing babies
The nurse allegedly told a colleague the death of a newborn on her night shift ‘could have happened to any baby’
Images and footage inside the hospital where nurse Lucy Letby is accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill 10 more were shown to the jury yesterday.
The jury at Manchester Crown Court viewed footage and pictures of the neo-natal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital as they heard details of where a baby known only as Child E died.
It was the same ward where Baby F was allegedly harmed by Letby and survived, during what the prosecution say was a year-long series of murders and attempted murders from June 2015 to 2016.
The footage showed four incubators in a large room where premature babies are treated, which is known as Nursery One.
The court also heard messages Letby exchanged with colleagues after the death of Child E. Letby told a colleague the death of the newborn on her night shift “could have happened to any baby.”
Letby, 32, was in WhatsApp conversation with a fellow neo-natal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital on the evening of 4 August 2015 - more than 16 hours after Child E was pronounced dead.
Her colleague, Jennifer Jones-Key, asked: “Hey how are you?”
Letby replied: “Not so good. We lost (Child E) overnight.”
Ms Jones-Key said: “That's sad. We are on a terrible run at the moment. Were you in 1?”
Letby said: “I had him and (Child F, twin brother of Child E).”
“It's a luck of the draw isn't it unfortunately. Only three trained so I ended up having both whereas just (Child F) the other shift x.”
Ms Jones-Key replied: “You seem to have been having such very bad luck though.”
Letby said: “Not a lot I can do really. He had a massive haemorrhage. Could have happened to any baby.”
Giving evidence on Monday, Child E’s mother told jurors at Manchester Crown Court she visited the unit just before 9pm on 3 August 2015 to drop off breast milk.
Her son and his twin brother, Child F - who Letby is accused of later attempting to murder - were in incubators in the room with Letby, she said.
Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC asked: “What could you see and hear when you walked into the room?”
She replied: “I could hear my son crying and it was like nothing I had heard before. And I walked over to the incubator to see blood coming out of his mouth.
“And I panicked... I was panicking... because it felt there was something wrong.”
The witness recalled Letby was standing at a nearby workstation when she entered the room.
The defendant engaged in another WhatsApp message exchange with another nursing colleague - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - on 9 August.
Letby told the nurse: “I said goodbye to (Child E's parents) as (Child F) might go tomorrow.
“They both cried and hugged me saying they will never be able to thank me for the love and care I gave to (Child E) and for the precious memories I have given them. It's heartbreaking.”
Her colleague replied: “You should feel very proud of yourself, especially as you have done so well in such tough and heart breaking circumstances.”
Letby said: “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.”