The barrister representing Lucy Letby, a convicted child serial killer, is set to present "fresh" medical evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in Birmingham, aiming to challenge her convictions. Mark McDonald is scheduled to deliver findings from an international panel composed of 14 neonatologists and paediatric specialists, which asserts that poor medical care and natural causes, rather than Letby, were responsible for the deaths and collapses of infants in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Letby, 35, originally from Hereford, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders after being convicted in 2022 across two trials at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others between June 2015 and June 2016. The reports being submitted to the CCRC also include a separate analysis from seven medical experts, which challenges the reliability of insulin test results that a jury previously linked to Letby’s alleged crimes.
The report concerning Child F and Child L concludes that the jury was misled on several significant points, particularly regarding medical and evidential facts. It claims that information critical to the insulin testing procedure was not presented during the trial and states that the biomechanical testing methods used could produce false-positive insulin results due to the interference of antibodies. The authors of this report assert, “Our inescapable conclusion is that this evidence significantly undermines the validity of the assertions made about the insulin and C-peptide testing presented in court.”
Commenting on the submissions, McDonald stated, “The fresh evidence totally undermines the prosecution case at trial. This is the largest international review of neonatal medicine ever undertaken, the results of which show Lucy Letby’s convictions are no longer safe.” He urged that the case be sent back to the Court of Appeal urgently, given the new findings.
In the wake of McDonald’s disclosures, lawyers representing the victims’ families dismissed the international panel's conclusions as “full of analytical holes” and described them as a mere reiteration of the defence arguments presented during the trials.
Letby has previously made two unsuccessful attempts to overturn her convictions at the Court of Appeal, with the latest effort occurring in October regarding a different jury's verdict on the attempted murder of a baby girl. Meanwhile, a public inquiry overseen by Lady Justice Thirlwall is expected to release its findings in November, investigating how Letby was able to commit her crimes undetected.
The inquiry has also brought forward concerns from victim families, including a poignant statement from the mother of Child C, who highlighted that Letby’s media engagement seemed to sideline the gravity of her crimes, stating, “The media PR campaign aimed to garner public sympathy for Letby demonstrates a complete lack of understanding for Letby’s crimes and the complexity of the case.”
Cheshire Constabulary continues its review of deaths and non-fatal collapses of newborns within the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital during Letby’s tenure as a nurse from 2012 to 2016. Senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, remarked that the investigation’s findings have faced extensive scrutiny and reiterated that thorough and expert evaluations were involved in the case. He added, “This case has been rigorously and fairly tested through two juries and subsequently scrutinised by two sets of appeal court judges.”
Hughes emphasised the respect due to the grieving families, noting that the police would refrain from engaging in public speculation, while expressing an openness to support the CCRC should any questions arise from future reviews.
Source: Noah Wire Services