Lucy Letby: Nurse sent card to grieving parents, jury told

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

Nurse Lucy Letby sent a sympathy card to the grieving parents of a baby girl just weeks after she allegedly murdered the infant, a court has heard.

She is accused of trying to kill the premature baby, referred to as Child I, three times before succeeding on a fourth attempt on 23 October 2015.

Ms Letby, 33, is accused of injecting air into her stomach via a feeding tube at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

She denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others.

Manchester Crown Court was shown an image of a condolence card Ms Letby sent to the family of Child I ahead of her funeral on 10 November.

The card was titled "your loved one will be remembered with many smiles".

Inside, Ms Letby wrote: "There are no words to make this time any easier.

"It was a real privilege to care for [Child I] and get to know you as a family - a family who always put [Child I] first and did everything possible for her.

"She will always be part of your lives and we will never forget her.

"Thinking of you today and always. Lots of love Lucy x."

The court was shown an image of a condolence card Ms Letby sent to the family of Child I

The message concludes with Ms Letby saying she was sorry she could not attend the funeral.

The court was previously told that Child I was born prematurely in August 2015 at Liverpool Women's Hospital at the gestational age of 27 weeks and weighed 2Ibs 2oz (970g).

She was transferred to the Countess of Chester Hospital later that month.

It is alleged that before murdering Child I, Ms Letby attempted to kill the infant on 30 September and during night shifts on 12 and 13 October.

The prosecution said she harmed the premature infant by injecting air into her feeding tube and bloodstream before she eventually died in the early hours of 23 October 2015.

The babies were being cared for on the neonatal ward at Countess of Chester Hospital

Ashleigh Hudson, who was Child I's designated nurse, told the court that the infant had been "generally quite easy to settle" but just prior to midnight on 22 October, she became "very unsettled".

Ms Hudson said: "I tried the usual measures to settle her, they didn't seem to work. It was quite a relentless cry."

Asked if crying was typical of Child I, she said: "In my experience it was atypical.

"It was a type of cry that I hadn't myself heard her make before, it was very loud, relentless, there was no stopping and starting.

"No fluctuation, just constant, very loud."

Child I's heart rate dropped soon after and ventilation breaths were given by Ms Hudson, with Ms Letby providing assistance.

Child I stabilised for a period, but crashed again shortly after 01:00 BST.

Ben Myers KC, defending, asked the nurse: "Was this, in effect a repeat of what had gone on earlier?"

"Yes", she replied.

Senior medics worked on Child I throughout the morning of 23 October, with numerous rounds of CPR and eight doses of adrenaline administered between 01:16 BST and 02:10 BST.

The on-call consultant Dr John Gibbs recorded in his notes that Child I was "not responding" to treatment and a decision was taken to stop resuscitation.

Her time of death was recorded at 02:30 BST.

The court was later shown text messages, between Ms Letby and a nursing colleague, who cannot be named for legal reasons, exchanged on the evening of 23 October.

Speaking about the death of Child I, Ms Letby said: "We tried everything. Just don't think she was strong enough this time."

The trial continues.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]