British child serial killer to face retrial over attempted murder charge
September 25, 2023 06:18 pm
British serial killer nurse Lucy Letby will face a retrial on an outstanding charge of attempting to murder a baby girl.
Letby, 33, was sentenced to a whole life order after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital, in 2015 and 2016.
However, the jury at Manchester Crown Court was unable to reach verdicts on six counts of attempted murder.
A provisional trial date of 10 June 2024 at the same court was fixed.
The former neonatal nurse, originally from Hereford, attended the hour-long hearing via videolink from a conference room at HMP New Hall in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Sat behind a desk, Letby spoke only to confirm her name and that she could see and hear the proceedings.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it was seeking a retrial on one of the outstanding charges - that Letby attempted to murder a baby girl, known as Baby K, in February 2016.
Nicholas Johnson KC, prosecuting, confirmed the Crown was not pursuing a retrial on the other five outstanding allegations involving two baby girls and two baby boys.
It was estimated the retrial would last up to three weeks.
‘Met with families’
Her barrister told the court Letby, who was acquitted of two counts of attempted murder by the jury, maintained her innocence on all charges.
Letby lodged an appeal against her convictions at the Court of Appeal earlier this month.
Jonathan Storer, chief crown prosecutor, said decisions on whether to seek retrials were “extremely complex and difficult”.
“Before reaching our conclusions, we listened carefully to the views of the families affected, police and prosecution counsel,” he said.
“Many competing factors were considered, including the evidence heard by the court during the long trial and its impact on our legal test for proceeding with a prosecution.
“We have met with all the families affected by these decisions to explain how they were reached.”
Source: BBC
--Agencies
