Why did Lucy Letby hurt babies? Motives explored as child serial killer to spend rest of her life in prison

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A UK nurse, Lucy Letby, has been sentenced to life in prison after she reportedly murdered seven babies and tried to kill six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England. The jury announced its verdict on Friday, August 18, 2023, and stated that Lucy would not be allowed parole. As per the complaints by the parents, Lucy Letby not only murdered seven babies but also assaulted many others, which has now left them with permanent life defects.

She attacked the newborns while they were under her care, pumping excess air into their bloodstreams and overfeeding them with milk. At the same time, the parents and hospital also complained about how she often poisoned the kids with insulin. As per reports, she has been accused of assaulting more than 13 babies between 2015 and 2016.

During her time as a nurse, Lucy led her colleagues and parents to believe that the kids passed away due to natural causes. While Lucy Letby herself was not present when she was sentenced, the prosecutor listed out the various reasons why she would have attempted the killings.

“She, in effect, was playing God”: Lucy Letby’s possible reasons behind murdering seven babies revealed by prosecutor

Jurors were provided with many reasons during Letby’s 10-month trial. Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC began by stating that there is no explanation for Lucy’s actions and that no reason can be imagined. Among the reasons highlighted by the prosecution, Nick Johnson KC emphasized that the British nurse enjoyed “playing god.” Additionally, Johnson also told jurors that Letby possibly got thrills from the deaths and committed the acts purely out of boredom.

Elaborating on Letby’s desire to “play God,” Johnson said,

“She knew what was going to happen. She was controlling things. She was enjoying what was going on. She was predicting things that she knew was going to happen. She, in effect, was playing God.”

Additionally, Johnson suggested to Letby that she was “getting a thrill out of what you were watching, the grief and despair, in that room”. However, the British nurse denied the accusation, saying,

“Absolutely not, no.”

As Lucy Letby was pronounced guilty, the parents of the deceased kids were present and cried quietly, as many claimed that even after so many years, they are shaken by the happenings and the killing of their children. According to complaints raised, Lucy murdered two baby girls and five baby boys at the neonatal unit of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016. Following this, she was arrested in July 2018 on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to murder six other babies.

After Lucy Letby’s arrest in 2018, the police found a series of letters in which she called herself a “horrible person.” In one of the notes, she confessed to committing the crimes, as the note read:

“I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them. I am a horrible evil person. I am evil I did this.”

Talking about the possible reasons why she could have done this, the prosecutors also highlighted the reason that she might have wanted the attention of a doctor, with whom Lucy Letby was in a secret relationship. This came to light after Lucy’s text messages to the doctor were shown to the court, as the two regularly exchanged text messages and even met outside of work.

The prosecutor stated that the unidentified doctor was one of the doctors who would be called if babies exhibited signs of illness. It was stated that she hurt the babies in order to gain his “personal attention.”

While Lucy Letby denied all these reasons, the prosecutor also stated that another reason could be that she was “not good enough to take care” of the babies, as the same was stated in her note.

Many parents spoke up as they were asked to come to the witness box. While some stated how depressed they had been, others claimed that they trusted Lucy Letby with their kids. At the same time, one parent also claimed that she had sensed that something was wrong, as she had heard kids screaming in the ICU. Moreover, Justice James Goss also spoke up on the matter and said:

“This was a cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of child murder involving the smallest and most vulnerable of children.”

The incident shook the entire world and the nurse’s colleagues, as many were in denial and claimed that “it can’t be Lucy Letby” when they heard about it first. Many parents and social media users are now demanding stricter laws and better care of the children in the neonatal wards so that such incidences do not repeat.