Detectives have interviewed Lucy Letby in prison over the alleged murders of more babies.
Killer nurse was questioned under caution over unexpected deaths and baby collapses at Countess of Chester Hospital.
And she was also questioned – apparently for the first time – about cases at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student.
The 34-year-old former neonatal nurse is already serving a rare life sentence for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven more at the Countess of Chester Hospital during a murder spree that lasted 13 months.
Following his convictions, in August last year, Cheshire Police began a review of the 4,000 babies he cared for during his career “footprint”, which dates back to January 2012 and includes two training placements at the hospital. Liverpool.
Sources have told the Mail that any charges, if brought, will not be filed until “well into the New Year”.
Cheshire Police said tonight: “We can confirm that, following an agreement, Lucy Letby has recently been interviewed in prison under caution in relation to the ongoing investigation into baby deaths and non-fatal collapses at the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital. “Further updates will follow.” Police did not say exactly when the interview took place or how many specific cases Letby, one of four women sentenced to life in prison in UK legal history, was questioned about.
She is currently imprisoned at HMP Bronzefield, in Ashford, Surrey, which caters for category A prisoners. The interview was pre-arranged and her legal representative was present.
Lucy Letby is serving a rare life sentence for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven more at the Countess of Chester Hospital during a murder spree that lasted 13 months.
Detectives interviewed Letby in prison for the alleged murders of more babies. Killer nurse was questioned under caution over unexpected deaths and baby collapses at Countess of Chester Hospital.
The former neonatal nurse is currently imprisoned at HMP Bronzefield, in Ashford, Surrey, which cares for category A inmates.
Letby was convicted last year of seven counts of murder and seven of attempted murder (a child she tried to kill twice).
She was subsequently found guilty of an eighth count of attempted murder against another premature girl following a retrial in July.
He is serving 15 life sentences and was refused permission to appeal his convictions earlier this year, meaning he will die in prison.
Letby was on duty, or had been working the previous shift, in 12 of the 13 infant deaths that occurred at the Countess between March 2015 and July 2016.
Last month, Dr Stephen Brearey, senior pediatrician at the Countess’ neonatal unit, told the public inquiry investigating her crimes that he believes it is “likely” she murdered or attacked more babies before killing her first. victim. , a premature twin known as Baby A, in June 2015.
He said, looking back, he now suspects other deaths and collapses.
Dr Rachel Lambie, who worked as a registrar at the Countess, also told the hearings, before Judge Thirlwall, that about a fortnight before Baby A died, another “very, very unusual event” occurred in the room.
Although he did not go into details, the doctor confirmed that he had since given a statement to detectives about the incident. Dr Dewi Evans, former lead prosecution witness in Letby’s original trial, also previously told the Mail that he is concerned about the deaths of at least three children and the collapse of up to 15 more, including one potentially poisoned by insulin, all which were not in the original indictment.
Letby was convicted last year of seven counts of murder and seven of attempted murder (a child she tried to kill twice). She was later found guilty of an eighth count of attempted murder against another premature girl, following a retrial in July.
He said he suspected Letby experimented with moving the babies’ breathing tubes as a method of causing harm before beginning to inject air into their bloodstream or stomachs through their nasal feeding tubes in an attempt to kill.
“One thing we can be reasonably sure of is that Lucy Letby didn’t go to work one day and decided to inject air into a baby’s bloodstream,” Dr. Evans said. “I think the modus operandi evolved over time and I think before the air embolism, displacing the tube was probably something she did.”
The inquest has heard that babies’ breathing tubes were dislodged in 40 per cent of the shifts Letby worked at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.
According to the BBC, babies suffered life-threatening incidents in almost a third of the 33 shifts he worked while training at the Liverpool Trust.
In one case, in November 2012, a baby Letby was caring for collapsed and water was later discovered in his breathing tube, which experts say is very irregular.
It is understood Letby was not formally arrested and voluntarily agreed to take part in the recent interview.
The news comes after more than 50 specialists including neonatologists, anaesthetists, pathologists, biochemists, toxicologists, statisticians, former senior NHS managers and retired police officers met at a central London location this weekend to discuss the defects of the case against him.