Evil Lucy Letby held my baby and smiled – I feel sick to think about it now, says dad
A DAD says he feels sick that killer nurse Lucy Letby held his baby girl shortly before starting her murder spree on her neonatal ward.
Alexander Leese said he will never forget the smile on Letby’s face after she helped to revive his daughter at the hospital where she went on to murder seven vulnerable babies.
His child was held and cared for by Letby in September 2014 — nine months before she killed her first victim at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Alexander, left, said: “I did not recognise Lucy before I saw a picture of her with her hair pulled back and in her NHS uniform. I felt sick.
“It was then that I realised that she was the nurse who came in and saved my daughter’s life.”
Alexander’s partner had been in labour for five days when their daughter was finally born.
When nurses noticed the newborn was not breathing, they pushed an emergency button and three more nurses rushed in — including Letby.
Alexander, 34, from Newcastle, said: “Lucy grabbed my baby from the other nurse and took her to the corner to revive her.
“I could not see what she was doing but she was trying to bring her back to life. It felt like forever but we eventually heard a cry and there was a massive sigh of relief.
“Lucy turned round and carried her to me with a huge smile on her face which I will never forget. She said to us ‘She has such beautiful eyelashes’.
“Looking back, it’s quite hard to think about how the nurse who saved my daughter would go on to kill so many babies.
“It’s horrible to think that she held her, if only for a small amount of time.
“It gives me an eerie feeling to think about it now. Because it had been a difficult birth there was a question over whether we should stay in the hospital for a few days more.
“One of the other nurses advised us that she was well enough to be able to go home.
“Looking back on it now, I am very glad that we got out of that hospital when we did.
“I am certainly relieved that our daughter did not stay on her own overnight with Letby.”
In total Letby, 33, murdered seven babies and attempted to kill six others.
This week in a televised sentencing at Manchester crown court, she was given 14 whole life terms and told she would die behind bars.