A lawyer defends those accused of baby killings like Lucy Letby, revealing his take on her case and the new theory.
Dr. Shoo Lee wants a retrial too. Her paper was used against Letby in court. Lawyer Joseph Kotrie-Monson disagrees strongly. He defends people in similar baby murder cases. He says many people misunderstand criminal law. More evidence convicted her, not just medical papers.
Letby, 35, got life for murdering seven babies. This happened at a hospital in Chester. She also attempted to murder nine more infants. Trials convicted her of those attempts. Now, she is in prison.
Her trial revealed disturbing notes. Letby called herself “evil” and guilty. Sick diary entries detailed the baby killings. Kotrie-Monson says missing medical proof isn’t unusual. It doesn’t mean justice failed here.
Letby’s lawyers asked the CCRC to review her case. The Court of Appeal previously denied two appeals. They found no new, strong evidence to consider.
Kotrie-Monson called the medical panel “glitzy.” He thought the event seemed “American.” He said real lawyers would worry. Experts said the conviction was “unsafe.” He thought this was beyond their skills. It was outside their area to suggest such a thing.
He stated people can be convicted of crimes. This is possible without any medical evidence. Various witness reports mentioned her odd behaviors. These reports were available at the trial. Some even described ghoulish acts.
Her home search found victims’ initials in her diary. They marked death dates and worsening conditions. The lawyer said this was only for her eyes. She also kept stolen medical documents. These were under her bed. Bizarre “evil” and “guilty” notes were found.
Kotrie-Monson said the odd behavior seems weird. The jury could see all behavior to reach a verdict. Each piece isn’t enough alone, that’s true. However, it all adds up. A jury can infer guilt, in the circumstances outlined.
He can’t say if the picture was strong enough. He was not the jury.
He felt the expert panel weren’t very “official.” They claimed only medical evidence matters. The defense could’ve called medical experts then. But they didn’t. He says lacking evidence doesn’t prove babies died naturally. Criminal law doesn’t need the exact cause of death.
He continued by stating that motive matters. Confession and behaviors also matter a great deal. Someone can be convicted of murder without a body. The CCRC will review all aspects. This includes medical alongside the further evidence.
This may lead to the Court of Appeal. A retrial might occur in the future.
The CCRC will look carefully at the case details. A retrial is not very likely. Overturning the conviction is also unlikely. He described this situation as an “uphill battle”.
A retrial will not be ordered unless something went wrong. This doesn’t only mean medical evidence. He means with the jury’s conclusion too. Some people think Letby is innocent. He says many can’t imagine she did it. She seemed like an average, nice person.
People commit terrible crimes, of course.
Some find it hard to believe Letby’s a murderer. That doesn’t mean she isn’t one. It’s a matter of examining the evidence.
One journalist feels Letby was a coward. She hid after the first guilty verdicts came. She also hid from the families at sentencing. She targeted tiny, helpless babies too. Now she hides behind lawyers again.
The Letby case lasted nine months with hard evidence. The jury took 22 days for the verdicts. The case started earlier. Police arrested a woman for murdering babies. They found her details quickly. Her Facebook had work information and contact links.
A staff profile was a “smoking gun.” She held a baby-gro in her hospital scrubs too. Letby said she cared for many babies. Her role was to care for babies needing help. Some stayed days, others months at a time.
She enjoyed helping them progress and supporting families.
She was getting “extra training,” she said. This would improve her intensive care skills. She had been called a “champion for children” as well. The killer hid under “trust” to deceive people. She also “gaslit” her colleagues around her. Usually, suspects’ social media helps cases a bit.
Letby’s wasn’t like that, police said she seemed beige. Predicting the jury’s decision was hard. Long, complex medical evidence might’ve hurt the verdict. The evidence felt unclear, it’s very true.
The babies’ deaths weren’t “natural.” Letby was a “poisoner”, they suggested. Staff grew suspicious of rising deaths. Staff also felt overwhelmed by collapses.
Letby was the “common denominator” in these events. There wasn’t DNA linking her to the killings. She was seen near some victims before collapses. No CCTV showed this situation however.
The jury relied on medical experts’ evidence. Some of these experts now doubt their input. More people and politicians want Letby’s conviction overturned. This is upsetting the victims’ families, understandably.
Experts are smart, but other evidence exists. This convinced the writer that Letby was guilty. Diary entries revealed twisted chaos. One note said: “I am evil I did this.”
The note also mentioned not deserving to live. She wrote she killed “on purpose”. “I am a horrible person” she added. Letby also screamed for help on notes. She begged to “Kill me”. These notes revealed her inner feelings.
The notes became frantic as deaths kept rising. She wrote: “I can’t do this anymore.” “No one will understand what it’s like.” It is strange to overlook these facts easily. Letby stalked victims’ families online. An innocent person doesn’t stalk grieving parents.
The jury remembered Letby’s confession. A second jury did also at the retrial. Top judges twice denied her appeal requests. Letby’s case might return to court. But the outcome might not change much at all.
The CCRC could return the case to the Court of Appeal. They also may not decide to do so. A retrial could happen or also be refused. If a retrial occurs, a jury might convict her still.
Then the victims’ families must hear the details again. A jury made their decision. She was a killer, not in the wrong place at the wrong time.
An expert, Dr. Dewi Evans, feels she is guilty. He also knows that she hurt many more innocent babies. He receives threats from Letby’s supporters.
He said the campaign to free Letby is from people without trial access. “How could a nurse harm babies?” They ask themselves, often openly.
He also states that Letby had a fair trial too. “The convictions are solid,” he states proudly. There are no grounds for any appeal in this situation. She put more babies in harm’s way.
He believes Letby should stay in prison forever.
Dr. Evans believes that the defense appeal wasn’t strong at all. The prosecution evidence felt far too overwhelming to ignore too. He stated that he has no doubt that the accused is guilty. The babies collapsed in a way he had never seen and shouldn’t be a common occurance.
He continued that Letby was hiding in plain sight. The deaths were caused by a rogue nurse he added confidently.
Information came to light since her conviction. In 2012 and 2015, she may have tampered with babies’ breathing tubes. This happened at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, it seems.
Richard Baker KC spoke in court regarding this. He represented 12 babies’ families involved. He added that it was a shockingly high number of babies. Their breathing tubes were dislodged on her shifts, far too high.
Letby poisoned two babies with insulin. A third baby had high insulin in 2015. The baby had congenital hyperinsulinism. Experts said it didn’t explain the high insulin.
Letby used insulin and air to inject babies. These killings happened on the hospital ward. The deaths weren’t tragic accidents, it felt evident. This all happened in 2023.
In the trial, she was convicted on seven counts of murder. She also attempted to kill six more innocent babies. A second trial convicted her of another attempted murder.
She cried at the first verdicts but left the court. Jurors said newborns were repeatedly targeted by Letby. One baby died after three failed attempts.
Staff noticed rising deaths also and collapses. These “catastrophic” events made staff wary. Letby was the “common denominator” in this situation.
Police searched her home in 2018. They found chilling evidence of her crimes. She wrote haunting notes in diaries. One note stated “I am evil I did this”.
The note said she didn’t deserve to live. She killed on purpose as her skills were lacking. “I am a horrible person” it also said. Other notes showed love for a doctor. She confided in him as the deaths grew.
She wrote “Kill me” and “Help me” as well. Names of murdered babies were also found here. She continued expressing that she could not do this or live like this to her diary too. No one would understand or appreciate it. People would later assume her guilt.
She wrote to someone that she wanted them to stand by her. This person didn’t offer her support in the end though. This was the married colleague. He was called her “best friend.” He caused the only sign of emotion for her.
The medic cried as he testified. In texts, he trusted her with his kids. Letby wanted attention, that was her motive at the time. She wanted people to remember her name forever.
She poisoned two babies in 2015 and 2016. This was no accident, it was a clear motive. She used air or milk in other cases. She injected it into their bloodstreams. In other situations, tubes in the stomachs were used. In some instances, she tried up to three times.
Serial killers include Rose West alongside Myra Hindley. Rose abducted and tortured victims with Fred West. She was convicted of ten murders, including her family. Myra Hindley killed five children with Ian Brady.
Beverley Allitt murdered four children as well and injured others. She was sentenced to 13 life sentences and remains secured in hospital. Joanna Dennehy murdered three men. She taunted police while on the run to avoid capture.
One mum heard her baby screaming. She said it was like nothing she had heard before. It was a scream or cry that a newborn shouldn’t make. It was completely horrendous she continued confidently.
She killed another child with trauma as well. This child’s liver was harmed as a direct result. She had just been on holiday in Ibiza with friends. Letby messaged a friend she would be back with a bang.
The nurse searched for victims’ families online in a very unusual way. She also sent a sympathy card to one mum. This was one of the attempts to craft relationships in any way she could. One baby girl weighed just two pounds. She was born prematurely.
After the baby’s death, the mum spoke further. Letby smiled commenting on the first bath. Letby said the baby loved the water and the entire process. She photographed a thank you card for memories.
She searched a pair of twins’ mum on Facebook. This happened nine times from death until later. She said Facebook searches happened a great deal.
She hid under a “cover of trust”. Cops called her “beige”. People didn’t suspect she was a killer.
After January 2015 something changed a little. There were more baby deaths and hospital collapses. Consultants saw links they couldn’t ignore. Kids had “deteriorated unexpectedly” in their eyes.
Babies also didn’t respond to resuscitation, that’s true. These babies had one thing in common, the prosecutor continued. They were all taken care of by Lucy Letby at some point or another.
Victoria Whitfield suspects Letby hurt her baby in 2013. Her baby was delivered by emergency cesarean sadly. This all took place at the Chester hospital. Victoria and her husband were told Felicity had been doing great. The next day, they said she was unwell.
She felt she needed to go see the child. Everything seemed quite calm as she entered to her. Lucy was near a cot but then left the area fully. She looked at Felicity and chaos broke out after only mere minutes.
But nurses were running around instead quickly.
Doctors didn’t think she could survive this, they sadly added. It seemed increasingly obvious towards everyone. They suggested a baptism immediately.
Felicity was moved to a hospital nearby. She improved straight away and became more stable to witness. CPS lawyer Pascale Jones spoke highly of their work to investigate Letby.
Letby was trusted to protect babies. Colleagues didn’t know she was a killer. She varied how she harmed the babies a great deal. She concealed her crimes so well under supervision.
She deceived her colleagues and made it seem like it was all a horrible tragedy. Her intentions were to weaponize learning. She inflicted death, grief, and pure harm. She repeatedly harmed babies when it wasn’t justified there.