Lucy Letby: Murder-accused nurse cried over baby collapses, court told

Lucy Letby is accused of murdering seven babies and trying to kill 10 others

A nurse accused of murdering babies at a neonatal unit cried to a colleague and told her it was "always me when it happens", a trial has heard.

Manchester Crown Court heard Lucy Letby was seen upset after a number of infants collapsed at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The jury was told the 33-year-old was heard saying that such incidents were "happening to her a lot".

Ms Letby denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others.

The nurse, originally from Hereford, is alleged to have committed the offences between June 2015 and June 2016.

The court was told Dr Lucy Beebe, who was a trainee doctor at the time, told police she saw Ms Letby in conversation with a colleague in one of the care rooms at the unit.

'Shock and frustration'

Giving evidence, she said she remembered Ms Letby "crying with another nurse and it was very much of the gist of 'it's always me when it happens, my babies, it's always happening to me a lot'".

She told prosecutor Philip Astbury she could not remember precisely when Ms Letby made the comment.

Dr Beebe said she cared for a premature-born girl, Child I, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The court has heard Ms Letby allegedly made four attempts to murder the girl on 30 September and 13, 14 October and 23 October 2015.

Child I was being cared for on the neonatal ward at Countess of Chester Hospital

Dr Beebe said she recalled Child I "because it was unusual that she was seemingly well and then became unwell".

"I felt like she was shipped out to a tertiary centre, made a rapid recovery and then was brought back very quickly," she said.

"It certainly stuck in my memory because it had never happened to a baby I had been involved in the care of before or since, at any of the neonatal units I worked at."

She said she felt "shock and frustration" when Child I died "because on reflection, I felt there was something else going on with [her] that we were not getting to the bottom of".

"It was sad because I remember the family and the whole situation was just very sad and frustrating," she said.

She agreed with Ben Myers KC, defending, that Ms Letby's tearful response "seemed a pretty normal reaction".

'Couldn't see'

The court also heard how Ms Letby had been asked to observe Child I before she collapsed in the early hours of 13 October 2015 as her designated nurse Ashleigh Hudson was required to help a colleague carry out a 15-minute procedure in a different nursery.

Ms Hudson said Child I was in a "good clinical condition" when she left the nursery and there had been discussions regarding her discharge from the hospital in the coming weeks.

She said she returned to the baby about 20 minutes later and Ms Letby "was standing in the doorway and we were talking".

The court was shown a recreation of the nursery at the time when it was claimed Ms Letby said Child I was pale

She said they spoke about something she could not recall before Ms Letby "pointed out from where she was that [Child I] looked pale [and said] something along the lines of '[Child I] looks pale' or 'don't you think [Child I] looks pale?'".

The court heard the main light was switched off in the nursery and Child I was in a cot with a canopy, which obscured the light from the baby's face, and had blankets covering her bottom half.

Ms Hudson said she "couldn't see" the child.

"I could see she was in the cot but I could not see the top half of her as it was obscured by the lighting and the canopy," she said.

"After switching the light on, I immediately went to [Child I], pushed back the canopy and peeled back the blankets to have a proper look at her and assess her."

She said it was clear Child I was in a "quite critical condition".

'Imprinted on my brain'

Ms Hudson said she shouted for help and for a crash call to be put out while she and Ms Letby started CPR.

She told the court her first thought was that Child I had deteriorated "rapidly" and that she was "too late".

"The change in her had been quite remarkable," she said.

"It was very surprising."

Ms Hudson said she "stepped back" when more senior colleagues arrived and the resuscitation was successful.

The court heard Ms Letby became Child I's designated nurse shortly after.

Ms Hudson was asked about a recreation of the nursery at the time of the collapse, which was staged as part of the criminal investigation.

It showed the area as Ms Hudson recalled it at the time.

It was put to her that it would have been impossible to recall the exact lighting on the day in question.

She said she "couldn't claim for it to be precise, but it has been an image that has been imprinted on my brain for quite some time".

The trial continues.

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