Nurse accused of murder describes herself as evil

Nurse Lucy Letby is accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 more.

She subsequently wrote on a Post It note, found by Police, "I AM EVIL I DID THIS". Ms Letby, 32, was arrested in July 2018 after the Countess of Chester Hospital became concerned about a large increase in the number of babies dying whilst she was on duty. 

She is on trial at Manchester Crown Court and has been charged with making 22 attacks on 17 babies. The incidents relate to a period between June 2016 and June 2018. At this point Ms Letby denies the allegations.

The prosecutor, Nick Johnson KC (King's Council), concluded his four-day opening statement by telling jurors about notes recovered from Ms Letby's home in Chester. The Police suggested she was keeping them as "souvenirs".

The  Post It notes, reportedly written by Ms Letby, had comments including: "What allegations have been made and by who? Do they have written evidence to support their comments?"

A further note referred to the fact she was no longer allowed on the neonatal unit, saying: "I haven't done anything wrong and they have no evidence so why have I had to hide away?"

Consequently, Mr Johnson showed the court a Post It which read, "I don't deserve to live. I killed them because I'm not good enough to care for them." Other notes used phrases saying, "there are no words, I can't breathe, I will never marry, I will never have children."

For the defence Benjamin Myers, KC, suggested that the notes had a more innocent explanation by saying, "The note reflects the anguished state of mind Ms Letby found herself in and what she felt when she learnt of how she was accused of killing children she thought she had done her best to care for," he said.

He further commented, "What you see there is anguish not guilt. The prosecution case was heavily reliant on coincidence. We say that this prosecution case is driven by the assumption that someone was doing deliberate harm combined with the coincidence on certain occasions of Ms Letby's presence," he said. He concluded by saying that the deaths and alleged attacks were the result of "a massive failure of care at a busy neonatal unit," rather than Ms Letby's deliberate actions.