Lucy Letby's status as convicted multiple murderer 'important' in retrial, jury told

The jury in the re-trial of Lucy Letby has been told her past crimes are an "important piece of evidence" when deciding if she had tried to kill another baby.

The 34-year-old former nurse, from Hereford, was convicted in the summer of 2023 after a "very long trial" of killing seven babies and attempting to kill six others while working as a nurse in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

She now faces a retrial on one of the charges on which the jury could not reach a verdict - a single offence of attempted murder against a premature baby girl, known in court as Child K.

Opening the case, prosecutor Nick Johnson KC told the jury: "Those other cases that I have mentioned do have an importance in this case because we suggest it’s not because you should convict her because of what she’s done in other cases, but what we are asserting is the relevance that it gives you significant evidence of what her intention was at the time. We say, we allege, she did things, or something to, (Child K).

"Putting it in a nutshell, we are saying that her status as a multiple murderer and attempted murderer is an important piece of the evidence that you can, if you wish, take into account when you are considering whether we have made you sure that she attempted to murder (Child K)."

Letby watched on from the dock as the opening statement was delivered.

She denies that she attempted to murder Child K on February 17, 2016.

Before February 17 2016, Mr Johnson said Letby had already murdered five children and attempted to murder three others – including two attempts on one baby girl – on various dates between June 2015 and October 2015.

After February 17 she went on to attempt to murder twin boys in April 2016, attempted to murder another boy in June 2016, and murdered two triplet boys later that month, said Mr Johnson.