Lucy Letby trial: Alleged killer nurse interrupted by mum, trial told

An alleged killer nurse was interrupted by the mother of one of her victims who paid her baby boy a visit at the neonatal unit, a court has heard.

Lucy Letby is accused of murdering five baby boys and two girls, and attempting to murder 10 other babies at Countess of Chester Hospital.

Manchester Crown Court heard child E's mother did not realise he was being attacked and was told by the nurse the blood from his mouth was due to a tube.

Ms Letby, 32, denies 22 charges.

Ms Letby, of Hereford, is accused of murdering child E and attempting to murder his twin, child F.

The court heard how the twins had been born prematurely and Ms Letby was the designated nurse for both boys.

One night, their mother, who was an inpatient on the postnatal ward, decided to visit her twin sons in the neonatal unit.

The jury was told the mother interrupted Ms Letby, who was in the process of attacking child E, but she did not realise he was being attacked.

The court heard child E's mother found her son acutely distressed and bleeding from his mouth.

Ms Letby attempted to reassure the mother that the blood was due to the tube irritating his throat, the court heard.

The jury was told Ms Letby said to the mother: "Trust me I'm a nurse."

The court heard the nurse urged the mother of child E to go back to the postnatal ward, which she did, but was so concerned that she phoned her husband.

The jury was told that Ms Letby later made a record on the nursing notes which was not true - about the time that the twins' mum came to visit her sons.

Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said: "We say that the nursing notes made by Lucy Letby are false, misleading and designed to cover her tracks."

The court also heard about child C's alleged murder.

Child C died because the air injected into his stomach made him unable to breath and he suffered a cardiac arrest, the jury heard.

The trial heard Ms Letby agreed she had been the only person in the room when child C collapsed and she was supposed to be looking after another, more poorly baby, in another room.

The court heard it was days after she allegedly killed child A, and days later attacked his twin sister, child B, while working at the neonatal unit.

"You can now see there was a pattern emerging," Mr Johnson said.

"Lucy Letby was the only person working on the night shift when child C died who had also been working on either of the shifts when child A died and his twin sister child B collapsed."

Mr Johnson told the court Ms Letby's method of attacking the babies in the neonatal unit was "beginning to develop".

"She had injected air into the bloodstream of the first twins, child A and B, and varied this approach by injecting air into child C's stomach via the nasogastric tube," he said.

The court heard on the day child C died, Ms Letby searched for the infant's parents on Facebook.

The jury has been told the trial may last up to six months.