by Disturbing handwritten notes allegedly written by a nurse accused of murdering seven babies in her care were presented in court on the fourth day of her trial in England.
Lucy Letby, 32, denies 22 charges against her – which include a further 10 attempted murders of babies in her care – while she worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester, north-west England, between 2015 and 2016.
“I AM BAD,” read one of the post-it notes allegedly written by Letby and found by police. “THIS I DID.” Another chilling letter read: “I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough. I’m a horrible bad person.”
A sheet of paper with scrawled letters included the phrase ‘Hope, Panic and Fear’, along with another message that read: ‘I will never have children or get married.’ A separate document shown to jurors on Thursday had the word “HATE” along with messages including: “There are no words…”, “I can’t breathe” and “I kill”.
Prosecutors say Letby went on an unimaginable killing spree that saw her babies murdered by injecting them with substances including insulin, milk and air. On Wednesday, Manchester Crown Court heard that the mother of one of her victims walked in on Letby as he was killing the baby, only to reassure the parent with: “Trust me, I’m a nurse.”
Worrying evidence against Letby continued to mount as the trail continued Thursday. He allegedly photographed two of the triplets lying together dead in a cot after killing them by injecting air.
The court also heard he then spent time comforting the parents of the victims, known only as Child O and Child P. In a conversation with Letby before Child P died, a doctor predicted he would survive. The nurse reportedly replied: “He’s not getting out of here alive, is he?”
“This observation surprised [the doctor] but Lucy Letby’s prediction came true,” said prosecutor Nick Johnson KC. “After all, he knew what he had done to him and therefore knew what was likely to happen. It’s definitely what he intended because it’s something he’s done to so many other kids.”
Letby also allegedly tried to kill their brother, Child N, three times over the course of 12 days, but failed.
He was also accused of attempting to kill Child Q by injecting excessive air and a clear liquid — possibly saline or water — into his stomach through a nasogastric tube. After the infant was taken to a different hospital, he made a “rapid recovery,” Johnson said.
Defense barrister Ben Myers KC, said “anyone with an iota of human understanding” would have seen the notes produced in court were “a young woman’s anguished outburst of fear and despair when she realizes the enormity of what is being said about her. ” The writings were “agony without guilt,” he claimed.
