Neonatal nurse who was arrested over ‘murder’ is released on bail

A 28-year-old neonatal nurse who was arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to kill another six has been released on bail.

Lucy Letby has been bailed pending further inquiries into her connection to 17 babies’ deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital during 2015 and 2016.

Detectives have been seen searching her £180,000 home in Chester, with a blue tent erected outside – and also searched her parents’ home in Hereford.

Lucy Letby has been bailed pending further inquiries into her connection to 17 babies’ deaths 

Ms Letby, whose arrest on Tuesday follows a year-long investigation, would become Britain’s most prolific child killer if she is convicted of murdering eight babies.

She began working at Chester Hospital after graduating from Chester University in 2011, and has a clean record with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Ms Letby was even the face of a campaign to raise £3 million for the unit, and said at the time: ‘I enjoy seeing them progress and supporting their families.’

Detective Inspector Paul Hughes, who is in charge of the investigation, said earlier this week that Ms Letby’s arrest as a ‘significant step forward’ in the force’s probe.

A fingertip search by detectives continued at Letby’s £180,000 home in Chester yesterday

He revealed the scope of the investigation had been widened since police took up the case – and they are now examining the care of 32 babies, 17 of whom had died.

Ian Harvey, the hospital’s medical director, said that he is confident that the neonatal unit is now safe and is an equivalent to a level 1 special care baby unit.

Police were called in by the hospital last May after a 2016 report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health found staffing at the unit was inadequate.

Two babies died on the unit in 2013 and three in 2014, but mortality rates jumped to eight deaths in 2015 and by June 2016, five babies had already died that year. 

Police search Ms Letby’s home, about a mile away from the Countess of Chester Hospital

A police spokesman said today: ‘Cheshire Police can confirm that the woman arrested on Tuesday has now been bailed pending further enquiries.

‘We continue to recognise that this investigation has a huge impact on all of the families, staff, and patients at the hospital as well as members of the public. 

‘Parents of all the babies continue to be kept fully updated and are being supported throughout the process by specially trained officers.

‘This is an extremely difficult time for all the families and it is important to remember that, at the heart of this, there are a number of bereaved families seeking answers as to what happened to their children.’

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