Senior staff at English hospital where Lucy Letby worked arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter
Letby, 35, is serving life in jail after being found guilty of murdering seven newborns and attempting to murder eight more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England.
The nurse has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal against her convictions.
She has been told she will never be released.
Following the trial, British police began to investigate possible corporate manslaughter offences at the hospital, an inquiry that was later widened to consider if individuals might be guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, who is leading the investigation, said three unnamed members of the hospital's senior leadership team were arrested on Monday, local time.
They have since been released on police bail pending further inquires.
"Both the corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter elements of the investigation are continuing and there are no set timescales for these," Mr Hughes said in a statement.
He added that the police investigation into whether Letby had committed more crimes at the hospital and at another unit where she had previously worked was ongoing.
Cheshire Police said the case did not have any impact on Letby's 2023 convictions for murder and attempted murder.
Letby, who testified that she never harmed a child, has continued to proclaim her innocence, and support for her has grown as legal and scientific experts have questioned the circumstantial and statistical evidence used at her trial.
A panel of international medical experts disputed the evidence against her and her lawyer said she was wrongly convicted.
A judge who oversaw a public inquiry seeking accountability of staff and management at the hospital was expected to publish her findings later this year.
Justice Kathryn Thirlwall said at the outset of the inquiry that she would not review Letby's conviction, but would take a deeper look into how failures led to babies being repeatedly harmed at the hospital.
As that inquiry was underway earlier this year, an independent panel of more than a dozen medical experts issued a report that found no sign of a crime and concluded natural causes or bad medical care led to the demise of each of the newborns.
"In summary, then, ladies and gentlemen, we did not find any murders," Dr Shoo Lee, a retired neonatologist from Canada, said at a London news conference in February.
Letby's lawyers and three former executives at the hospital unsuccessfully petitioned Judge Thirlwall to halt the public inquiry after the medical panel released its findings.
Letby, who lost two bids to appeal her convictions, now has her case before the Criminal Case Review Commission, which reviews possible miscarriages of justice, which could lead to another shot at an appeal.
The Crown Prosecution Service has said two juries have convicted Letby and three appellate judges have rejected her arguments that the prosecution expert evidence is flawed.
Reuters/AP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
36 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
More charges considered for UK baby killer Lucy Letby
British prosecutors are considering bringing further charges against nurse Lucy Letby, already convicted of murdering seven babies, over allegations relating to deaths and other incidents at hospitals where she worked. Letby, 35, is already serving life in jail and will never be released after being found guilty of attacking the newborns and attempting to kill eight more at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England between June 2015 and June 2016. Letby, Britain's worst serial child killer of modern times, has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal. Her lawyers are seeking to have the case reviewed, saying there are serious doubts over whether she was guilty of any crimes. However, following her convictions, police said they were examining whether she had committed at further crimes while at the Chester hospital or at the unit where she had previously worked, and the Crown Prosecution Service said it was examining the evidence. "We can confirm that we have received a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital," a CPS spokesperson said on Wednesday. "We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought." It said a referral by police did not mean charges would follow. Since Letby was jailed, some MPs and medical experts have publicly challenged the prosecution evidence that was used to find her guilty, with some experts querying whether any babies had actually been murdered at all. The Criminal Cases Review Commission, which examines potential miscarriages of justice, is considering an application from Letby's legal team. "The concerns many have raised will not go away, and we will continue to publicly discuss them," her lawyer Mark McDonald said on Tuesday. Those comments came after detectives said they had arrested three unnamed senior members of the hospital's leadership team as part of their investigation into individuals and the Chester hospital itself. The CPS said it had not yet been asked to consider any charges in relation to the investigation into the staff or the hospital itself. British prosecutors are considering bringing further charges against nurse Lucy Letby, already convicted of murdering seven babies, over allegations relating to deaths and other incidents at hospitals where she worked. Letby, 35, is already serving life in jail and will never be released after being found guilty of attacking the newborns and attempting to kill eight more at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England between June 2015 and June 2016. Letby, Britain's worst serial child killer of modern times, has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal. Her lawyers are seeking to have the case reviewed, saying there are serious doubts over whether she was guilty of any crimes. However, following her convictions, police said they were examining whether she had committed at further crimes while at the Chester hospital or at the unit where she had previously worked, and the Crown Prosecution Service said it was examining the evidence. "We can confirm that we have received a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital," a CPS spokesperson said on Wednesday. "We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought." It said a referral by police did not mean charges would follow. Since Letby was jailed, some MPs and medical experts have publicly challenged the prosecution evidence that was used to find her guilty, with some experts querying whether any babies had actually been murdered at all. The Criminal Cases Review Commission, which examines potential miscarriages of justice, is considering an application from Letby's legal team. "The concerns many have raised will not go away, and we will continue to publicly discuss them," her lawyer Mark McDonald said on Tuesday. Those comments came after detectives said they had arrested three unnamed senior members of the hospital's leadership team as part of their investigation into individuals and the Chester hospital itself. The CPS said it had not yet been asked to consider any charges in relation to the investigation into the staff or the hospital itself. British prosecutors are considering bringing further charges against nurse Lucy Letby, already convicted of murdering seven babies, over allegations relating to deaths and other incidents at hospitals where she worked. Letby, 35, is already serving life in jail and will never be released after being found guilty of attacking the newborns and attempting to kill eight more at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England between June 2015 and June 2016. Letby, Britain's worst serial child killer of modern times, has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal. Her lawyers are seeking to have the case reviewed, saying there are serious doubts over whether she was guilty of any crimes. However, following her convictions, police said they were examining whether she had committed at further crimes while at the Chester hospital or at the unit where she had previously worked, and the Crown Prosecution Service said it was examining the evidence. "We can confirm that we have received a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital," a CPS spokesperson said on Wednesday. "We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought." It said a referral by police did not mean charges would follow. Since Letby was jailed, some MPs and medical experts have publicly challenged the prosecution evidence that was used to find her guilty, with some experts querying whether any babies had actually been murdered at all. The Criminal Cases Review Commission, which examines potential miscarriages of justice, is considering an application from Letby's legal team. "The concerns many have raised will not go away, and we will continue to publicly discuss them," her lawyer Mark McDonald said on Tuesday. Those comments came after detectives said they had arrested three unnamed senior members of the hospital's leadership team as part of their investigation into individuals and the Chester hospital itself. The CPS said it had not yet been asked to consider any charges in relation to the investigation into the staff or the hospital itself. British prosecutors are considering bringing further charges against nurse Lucy Letby, already convicted of murdering seven babies, over allegations relating to deaths and other incidents at hospitals where she worked. Letby, 35, is already serving life in jail and will never be released after being found guilty of attacking the newborns and attempting to kill eight more at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England between June 2015 and June 2016. Letby, Britain's worst serial child killer of modern times, has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal. Her lawyers are seeking to have the case reviewed, saying there are serious doubts over whether she was guilty of any crimes. However, following her convictions, police said they were examining whether she had committed at further crimes while at the Chester hospital or at the unit where she had previously worked, and the Crown Prosecution Service said it was examining the evidence. "We can confirm that we have received a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital," a CPS spokesperson said on Wednesday. "We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought." It said a referral by police did not mean charges would follow. Since Letby was jailed, some MPs and medical experts have publicly challenged the prosecution evidence that was used to find her guilty, with some experts querying whether any babies had actually been murdered at all. The Criminal Cases Review Commission, which examines potential miscarriages of justice, is considering an application from Letby's legal team. "The concerns many have raised will not go away, and we will continue to publicly discuss them," her lawyer Mark McDonald said on Tuesday. Those comments came after detectives said they had arrested three unnamed senior members of the hospital's leadership team as part of their investigation into individuals and the Chester hospital itself. The CPS said it had not yet been asked to consider any charges in relation to the investigation into the staff or the hospital itself.
Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
More charges considered for UK baby killer Lucy Letby
British prosecutors are considering bringing further charges against nurse Lucy Letby, already convicted of murdering seven babies, over allegations relating to deaths and other incidents at hospitals where she worked. Letby, 35, is already serving life in jail and will never be released after being found guilty of attacking the newborns and attempting to kill eight more at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England between June 2015 and June 2016. Letby, Britain's worst serial child killer of modern times, has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal. Her lawyers are seeking to have the case reviewed, saying there are serious doubts over whether she was guilty of any crimes. However, following her convictions, police said they were examining whether she had committed at further crimes while at the Chester hospital or at the unit where she had previously worked, and the Crown Prosecution Service said it was examining the evidence. "We can confirm that we have received a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital," a CPS spokesperson said on Wednesday. "We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought." It said a referral by police did not mean charges would follow. Since Letby was jailed, some MPs and medical experts have publicly challenged the prosecution evidence that was used to find her guilty, with some experts querying whether any babies had actually been murdered at all. The Criminal Cases Review Commission, which examines potential miscarriages of justice, is considering an application from Letby's legal team. "The concerns many have raised will not go away, and we will continue to publicly discuss them," her lawyer Mark McDonald said on Tuesday. Those comments came after detectives said they had arrested three unnamed senior members of the hospital's leadership team as part of their investigation into individuals and the Chester hospital itself. The CPS said it had not yet been asked to consider any charges in relation to the investigation into the staff or the hospital itself.
News.com.au
9 hours ago
- News.com.au
Rachelle Childs podcast reaches 3 million downloads as petition for police reward increase grows
More than three million people have now downloaded the multimedia investigation into the murder of Rachelle Childs, a cold case which continues to haunt her family and friends 24 years on. And her sister is not stopping in her quest for justice, as a petition to increase the reward to $500,000 to find her killer is gathering momentum online. Rachelle's sister Kristy, who launched the petition told signatories: 'This is a personal plea to increase the reward for information leading to a conviction in her case to $500,000. It's been over two decades since we lost Rachelle and justice has yet to be served.' She told this masthead: 'We haven't achieved a raise in the reward yet, despite campaigning for years. 'We feel an increase in the reward is justified and warranted.' Kristy said they feel the reward increase 'may help to encourage the public to come forward with perhaps some information that they have held back for personal reasons'. 'We also think that considering other cases with rewards of $500,000, $750,000 and even $1 million, Rachelle's case having a $200,000 reward is not equitable or fair.' The petition comes as the Dear Rachelle podcast has dominated the podcast charts in Australia and has ranked highly in the UK and New Zealand, as it reinvestigates evidence from the cold case with the help of Rachelle's family and ex-detectives. LISTEN TO THE DEAR RACHELLE PODCAST BELOW: When hearing the news of the podcast reaching three million downloads, Kristy said: 'Three million people listening to Chelle's story, talking about her case, and supporting the investigation is just mind blowing. 'We are so thankful, heartened and incredibly grateful. 'We just hope that all this incredible hard work and support from the public leads to a conviction and a very lengthy sentence. 'That is the only reason why we are doing this.' Rachelle, 23, was murdered, set on fire and left on the side of a lonely highway near Gerroa, on the NSW south coast, in June 2001. There was a lengthy police investigation at the time, but it was marred with incompetence and ultimately failed to identify the killer. As a result, Rachelle's case ended up languishing at the back of police unsolved homicide files. The podcast team at News Corp has been working with Rachelle's family and ex-detectives to reinvestigate long-forgotten evidence, along with the alibi of the chief suspect – her former boss Kevin Steven Correll, who has consistently denied murdering Rachelle and has never been charged. He says that he has always co-operated with police by supplying his DNA and answering all their questions. Mr Correll and Rachelle sold used cars at Camden Holden when she died. What Rachelle and the rest of the community probably didn't know was that he was previously acquitted of four sexual assaults under his birth name, Kevin Cornwall. Past allegations aside, it's possible Mr Correll was one of the last people to see Rachelle alive when she left work for the last time on June 7, before she that night, a number of motorists saw a car that matched the description of Rachelle's prized Commodore along the highway between her home in Bargo and Gerroa, where her body was uncovered.
