The deaths of at least two more babies are being investigated by detectives as part of the ongoing police inquiry into serial child killer Lucy Letby.
The former neo-natal nurse was convicted of murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital during a 13-month killing spree, between June 2015 and June 2016.
But another 10 infants died over the same period – six at the Countess and four at neo-natal units elsewhere, following their transfer to other NHS hospitals for more specialist care.
A document published by the legal team of the Thirlwall Inquiry, the public inquiry looking into Letby’s crimes, revealed all 17 deaths have been looked at by Cheshire Constabulary but only two remain under investigation.
The document overview states: ‘Two of the deaths that occurred on a neonatal Unit (either at the Countess of Chester Hospital or other hospital neonatal units post transfer) remain the subject of ongoing police investigation.’
The document does not explain exactly when in 2015 or 2016, or where the two infant deaths under investigation took place.
Cheshire Police have pledged to look into the cases of all 4,000 babies Letby treated at the Countess, and Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student, during the ‘footprint’ of her five-year career.
Only last month detectives confirmed they had visited Letby, 35, in prison to interview her on suspicion of murdering and harming more children.
The former neo-natal nurse was convicted of murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital during a 13-month killing spree, between June 2015 and June 2016
The public inquiry looking into Letby’s crimes, revealed all 17 deaths have been looked at by Cheshire Constabulary but only two remain under investigation
Police declined to comment on the document and previously refused to reveal exactly how many specific cases Letby – one of only four women sentenced to a whole life term in UK legal history – has been questioned about.
But sources have told the Mail that any charges won’t be brought until ‘well into the New Year.’
Last year Dr Stephen Brearey, the senior paediatrician on the neo-natal unit at the Countess, told the public inquiry that he believes Letby ‘likely’ murdered or attacked more babies before she killed her first victim, in June 2015.
He said he has suspicions about other deaths and collapses, which at the time staff believed were normal, or had natural causes.
Letby was on duty, or had been working the shift prior, for 12 of 13 baby deaths that occurred at the Countess of Chester Hospital between March 2015 and July 2016.
She was convicted of murdering seven children and found guilty of trying to kill seven others who suffered unexplained collapses, including one she attacked twice, over the same period.
One of her attempted murder victims, Baby K, died after being transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital, on the Wirral, several days after Letby deliberately dislodged her breathing tube.
She was initially charged with Baby K’s murder but prosecutors downgraded the offence to attempted murder before the original trial began, in October 2023, amid concerns they could not prove Letby’s attack caused the child’s subsequent death.
A sign outside the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester where Letby worked
Letby was on duty, or had been working the shift prior, for 12 of 13 baby deaths that occurred at the Countess of Chester Hospital between March 2015 and July 2016
Screen grab taken from body worn camera footage issued by Cheshire Constabulary of the arrest of Lucy Letby
The other nine babies who died in 2015 and 2016 – who did not feature in the criminal trial – also feature in the legal team’s overview document.
Among details listed are the cause of death recorded at post-mortem or the registered cause of death, with several citing congenital conditions or abnormalities.
Dr Dewi Evans, the former lead prosecution witness at Letby’s original trial, previously told the Mail he had concerns over the deaths of at least three children and the collapses of as many as 15 more, including one potentially poisoned with insulin who were not included on the original indictment.
He said he had suspicions that Letby experimented with moving babies’ breathing tubes as a method of causing harm before she began injecting air into their bloodstreams, or into their tummies via their nasal feeding tubes in a bid to kill.
‘One thing we can be reasonably sure of is that Lucy Letby did not turn up to work one day and decide to inject a baby with air into their bloodstream,’ he said.
‘I think the modus operandi evolved over time and I think that prior to air embolus tube displacement was probably something that she did.’
Dr Rachel Lambie, who worked as a registrar at the Countess, has also told the inquiry that, around a fortnight before Letby murdered her first victim, known as Baby A, in June 2015, another ‘very, very unusual event’ occurred on the ward.
Although she didn’t go into details, the medic confirmed she has since given a statement to detectives about the incident.
The inquiry has heard that babies breathing tubes became dislodged on 40 per cent of shifts Letby worked at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.
According to the BBC, babies suffered potentially life-threatening incidents on almost a third of the 33 shifts she worked while training at the Liverpool Trust.
In one case, from November 2012, a baby boy being cared for by Letby collapsed and water was later discovered in his breathing tube, which experts say is highly irregular.
Letby, of Hereford, maintains her innocence and has twice applied, but failed, to have her convictions dismissed by the Court of Appeal. She is serving 15 whole life tariffs and will die in jail.