Prosecutors believed the collapses and deaths of 17 babies were the work of nurse Lucy Letby.
Prosecutors believed the collapses and deaths of 17 babies were the work of nurse Lucy Letby.
New details have emerged about UK killer baby nurse Lucy Letby’s conditions inside prison, with inmates and the public furious at her “cushy” life behind bars.
Letby is serving a life sentence for murdering seven babies at Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016.
She was found guilty of deliberately harming infants using numerous methods, including injecting air intravenously and administering and/or milk into their stomachs via nasogastric tubes.
During her reign of murders, she also added insulin as position to intravenous feeds, interfered with breathing tubes and inflicted physical trauma on the infants.
“Parents were exposed to her morbid curiosity and her fake compassion,” said senior prosecutor Pascale Jones. “Too many of them returned home to empty baby rooms. Many surviving children live with permanent consequences of her assaults upon their lives.”
Her attacks, Jones said, were “a complete betrayal of the trust placed in her.”
Neonatal nurse Lucy Letby. Photo / Cheshire Constabulary via AP
Inside killer nurse Lucy Letby’s prison life
Five months after the 34-year-old nurse was given a life sentence, a prison insider claimed Letby was given a key to her own cell, and described the evil murderer’s conditions behind bars as like living in “a hotel but you’re surrounded by criminals”.
According to both The Sun and Daily Mail, Letby had recently been moved from tough Low Netton jail to the “cushy” HMP Bronzefield.
It is claimed the former nurse has her own cell with an en suite shower, a desk, phone and television.
She has dyed her hair brown, gets round-the-clock protection and does not have a prison job.
A source told The Sun: “Letby seems happy as Larry. She is in a nice cell and on her own.
“She is with prisoners who have earned more rights to watch TV, spend their cash and have visits.
“It is a disgrace and it’s no wonder she’s been looking so happy.”
A cell in the new HMP Bronzefield (womens prison) in Ashford Middlesex.
It is believed Letby was also given a key to her own cell.
Daily Mail claim that keys are handed to inmates of category A HMP Bronzefield as a reward for good behaviour on the inside.
The move has since caused anger among the grieving parents of Letby’s victims.
“We thought they were throwing away the key, and now we find out that she has her own key,” one parent told The Sunday People.
Numerous UK media organisations have sought comment from the prison. However, a spokesperson dodged questions about the killer nurse’s condition inside, instead saying: “We can’t comment on individual cases.”
The revelation has added more pain the the victims’ families after Letby refused to show up for her own sentencing in what was described as a “cowardly” act.
Families of the victims said they will “forever be grateful” to jurors who since October 2022 had to sit through 145 days of “gruelling” evidence.
In a joint statement read outside court last year, they also expressed their gratitude to all those who came to give evidence during the trial, which they described as “extremely harrowing and distressing” to listen to.
“To lose a baby is a heart-breaking experience that no parent should ever have to go through, but to lose a baby or to have a baby harmed in these particular circumstances is unimaginable,” they said.
One of the senior doctors at the Countess of Chester Hospital told the BBC he had repeatedly tried to raise the alarm about Letby but hospital executives failed to investigate the allegations.
Dr Stephen Brearley, the lead doctor in the neonatal unit, said the hospital tried to silence doctors who complained about Letby and delayed calling the police.
Lucy Letby murder convictions appeal bid rejected
Despite Letby’s “cushy” life inside prison, she has been dealt a blow this week after an initial bid to challenge her convictions for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another six refused by the Court of Appeal.
She lodged an application for permission to appeal against her convictions in September.
A judge has since refused her application after considering the case documents, a judicial spokeswoman said.
Letby was sentenced to multiple whole life orders in August.
