REAL LIFE
Lucy Letby was a typical girl-next-door who became the most prolific serial killer of children in modern British history when she was handed a whole-life sentence for murdering seven newborns and attempting to kill another six. Now, forensic psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das gives his verdict on the terrifying case
The shocking details that came out during the trial of nurse Lucy Letby stunned the nation. On the surface, 33-year-old Lucy seemed like any other young nurse who loved her job. Clad in her blue scrubs, she appeared calm and professional. But behind that façade hid a sadistic and evil murderer – one who inflicted indescribable pain on the most defenceless and tiny babies in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital, where she worked.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das tells Closer, “It is without doubt a horrific case. There were no apparent warning signs, and I have never come across a woman like her before.
HORRIFIC MURDERS
“She somehow managed to compartmentalise her dark and twisted emotions and could divorce her actions from the rest of her everyday normal life. Sickeningly, it was easier for her because her victims were so defenceless – it took no physical energy to murder them, there was no violence, or struggle. So, her acts were less draining emotionally.”
In the space of just over a year, from June 2015 to June 2016, Lucy murdered seven babies in different horrific ways – by injecting them with air, over-feeding, poisoning with insulin, and assaulting them with medical tools. She also attempted to murder a further six newborns.
Lucy was sentenced to life in prison on 21 August, but horrifically, the true scale of her actions is still unknown. Police are now reviewing the care of 4,000 babies she may have come into contact with at the Countess of Chester Hospital between January 2012 and June 2016. She also had two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 2012 and 2015, which are also being reviewed.
DEVASTATED
A Government inquiry has also been launched to investigate why, despite senior doctors repeatedly raising their suspicions over Letby to senior management, she was able to continue working on the neonatal unit. She was finally removed in July 2016 and, in May 2017 after a formal investigation, police were contacted. Lucy was arrested in July 2018 and charged in November 2020.
Lucy has maintained her innocence throughout and, in a final act of cowardice and cruelty, refused to attend her sentencing and listen to the impact statements given by the devastated families of the babies she murdered.
Dr Das says, “It’s possible she’s just callous with a complete lack of empathy. I’ve assessed over 500 d
