UK police widen investigation of hospital where killer nurse worked

14/3/2025 6:10

British police said on

Thursday they had widened an investigation into manslaughter at

the hospital where nurse Lucy Letby, who was convicted of

killing seven babies, had worked.



Police opened an investigation into corporate manslaughter

at the Countess of Chester hospital in northern England

following Letby's conviction in 2023, focusing on the hospital's

senior leadership and their decision making.



They will now also investigate gross negligence

manslaughter, a separate offence that focuses on the grossly

negligent action or inaction of individuals, Detective

Superintendent Paul Hughes said in a statement.



Letby's lawyers last month launched a new bid to overthrow

her conviction following a conclusion by some medical experts

that none of the babies had actually been murdered.



Police on Thursday said the widened scope of the hospital

investigation will not impact Letby's conviction, of killing the

seven newborns and attempting to murder eight more between June

2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the

Countess of Chester Hospital.



As Britain's worst serial child killer of modern times, she

is serving 15 full life terms in prison and was told she would

never be released. Letby, 35, has maintained her innocence

throughout but has been refused permission to appeal against her

convictions.



Hughes, the senior investigating officer in the case, said

suspects in the widened investigation had been notified but no

arrests or charges had yet been made.



There were also no fixed timescales for either the corporate

manslaughter or gross negligence manslaughter elements of the

investigations, he added.