Lucy Letby ‘attacked baby when mum was on school run and tried to kill others after parents left bedsides to rest’
A NURSE attacked a baby when her mum went on the school run and “sabotaged” others shortly after their parents went to rest, a court heard.
Lucy Letby, 33, allegedly took advantage of being left alone on the neonatal ward to harm them.
Jurors were told she “sabotaged” the care of nine babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital after their parents had left.
This included one tot Letby allegedly attacked while her mum went to pick her other children up from school.
The nurse force-fed Child I milk and air while alone with the baby but did not succeed in killing her, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Jurors were told she eventually succeeded in murdering the tot on her fourth attempt weeks later.
Letby is also accused of twice attempting to kill Child H shortly after the baby girl’s dad left the nursery to go home.
He said he left the unit with his mother-in-law before midnight on September 25 – only to receive a phone call hours later to say his daughter was ill.
The baby suffered a cardiac arrest and needed emergency resuscitation after Letby struck twice on consecutive night shifts, it was said.
During cross-examination, Letby denied “sabotaging” Child H.
She also denied being “frustrated” that the baby had survived the first alleged attempt to kill her.
The nurse said: “I have never attacked any child.”
Letby allegedly embarked on a year-long killing spree while working on the neonatal ward at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
The court heard previously she was a “constant malevolent presence” on the neonatal ward.
Letby is accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill ten others between June 2015 and June 2016.
It’s claimed some of the newborns were repeatedly targeted by the nurse – including one baby Letby is alleged to have killed after three previous failed attempts.
Consultants at the hospital grew suspicious of the “significant rise” in the number of babies dying or suffering “catastrophic” collapses.
Letby denies all 22 charges, which are said to have taken place between June 2015 and June 2016.
A court order prohibits identifying the surviving and deceased children and prohibits identifying parents or witnesses connected with the babies.
The trial continues.