UK child-killer nurse to face retrial over attempted murder charge

A British nurse jailed for life for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others will face a retrial on an outstanding charge of attempted murder, prosecutors said on Monday.

Lucy Letby, 33, was convicted last month of killing five baby boys and two baby girls, making her Britain's most prolific child serial killer in modern times.

But the jury in the months-long trial at Manchester Crown Court were unable to reach decisions on six counts of attempted murder relating to five babies.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which brings prosecutions in England and Wales, said it will seek a retrial on a charge that Letby attempted to murder a baby girl in February 2016.

A provisional trial date has been fixed for June 10 next year, also at Manchester Crown Court in northwest England.

Jonathan Storer, chief crown prosecutor with the CPS, said the decisions on whether to seek retrials were "extremely complex and difficult".

"Before reaching our conclusions, we listened carefully to the views of the families affected, police and prosecution counsel," he said.

"Many competing factors were considered, including the evidence heard by the court during the long trial and its impact on our legal test for proceeding with a prosecution," he added.

Letby was arrested following a string of deaths at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between June 2015 and June 2016.

She consistently denied all the charges against her.

Letby attended Monday's hearing via videolink from a conference room at a prison near Wakefield, northern England.

Sitting behind a desk, she only spoke to confirm her name and that she could see and hear the proceedings.

© 2023 AFP