Coroner opens inquest into five babies murdered by Lucy Letby | Lucy Letby
A coroner has officially opened an inquest into the deaths of five newborn babies, for which Lucy Letby was found guilty of murder.
In a 20-minute hearing at Cheshire coroner’s court, senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish heard brief details of the deaths before adjourning the trial until September.
The coroner’s Det Insp Darren Reid said an inquest had been requested into the deaths of babies known as C, E, I, O and P at the Countess of Chester hospital because there was “reason to suspect an unnatural death”.
Letby, 36, is serving 15 life sentences after being found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven more by June 2016.
The former neonatal nurse, from Hereford, insisted she was innocent and that babies died or became seriously ill due to poor care and understaffing. Under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the outcome of a coroner’s inquest must not be inconsistent with a murder conviction made in criminal proceedings.
At the hearing in Warrington last week, Letby’s barrister Mark McDonald said the law meant inquests were “not the forum to re-litigate convictions”. But he said the coroner needed to understand how each baby died and that there were “systemic failures” at the hospital.
Richard Baker KC, who represents some of the bereaved families, told last week’s hearing that the inquests should not be used as a “secondary attack on the convictions”.
He said the coroner “is committed to those beliefs and cannot act in any way that is inconsistent with them.”
Devonish, Cheshire’s senior coroner, told lawyers: “At this point how the babies died has been determined by the verdict of a criminal case. If there is an objection we can revisit that question at this point.”
On Wednesday the coroner said he would adjourn five inquests pending the outcome of a public inquest conducted by Mrs Coroner Kathryn Thirlwall, who examined the deaths and will publish her report in the coming months.
The provisional date for full investigation hearings is set for 14 to 25 September, with the internal review set for 5 May.
The investigation into the death of the sixth baby, Child D, which was opened and suspended in 2016, was further suspended on Wednesday.
The inquest into the death of the seventh newborn, Baby A, was held in October 2016 and recorded a narrative conclusion stating that it could not be determined what caused the child’s collapse and subsequent death or whether it resulted from a natural or unnatural event. Baby A’s family does not want the investigation to be reopened.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates possible miscarriages of justice, has been reviewing convictions since February last year.
Letby made two unsuccessful attempts to overturn the convictions at the appeal court in London.
Prosecutors said last month that Letby would not face further charges after reviewing a file of evidence from Cheshire Police.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) assessed 11 new crimes: two counts of murder and two attempted murder, involving the two dead babies, and seven attempted murder, involving the seven surviving babies.
The new allegations included the alleged murder of a baby at the Countess of Chester hospital and a baby at Liverpool Women’s hospital.
But the CPS said the evidence did not meet the tests required to bring new charges.
Cheshire Constabulary is continuing its investigation into three former senior Countess of Chester bosses who were arrested last year on suspicion of corporate manslaughter or manslaughter by gross negligence.
