Lucy Letby

NICU Nurse Who Forced Air Into 1-Pound Baby’s Stomach Said it Was ‘Quite Hard’ Seeing Him Slowly Die: Court

A British nurse who is standing trial for murdering seven babies in 2015 and 2016 allegedly told cops that she felt bad for the second victim’s parents, according to court testimony.

Lucy Letby, 32, is accused of killing the baby boy, who was born 10 weeks premature at Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015. Letby later told police that it was “quite hard” watching the baby live for several hours after his condition deteriorated as it was not something she had seen before, according to the BBC.

The Daily Mail reported that the baby — who weighed 1.7 pounds — had air forced into his stomach via a nasogastric tube. An expert testified that the boy was thriving at the time of his sudden death. The expert stated that he was “potentially at risk of complications” after birth, and he was receiving routine treatment for a pneumonia. However, the expert concluded that the pneumonia did not kill the newborn, according to the BBC.

The court also heard how medical staff performed a token resuscitation on the newborn so he could be baptized before he died. Letby allegedly told police that she felt “very sad” for the parents — who she admitted to searching on Facebook after their baby’s death.

Previous testimony revealed that Letby was not assigned to the victim, and that she was assigned to another baby in a different room. A supervising nurse told the court that she had to tell Letby to tend to her assigned baby on more than one instance.

The deceased baby in this case is believed to have been Letby’s second victim. She is currently on trial for murdering seven babies and trying to kill 10 more. She has been accused of injecting air into the victims’ bloodstream and giving them insulin, allegations which she denies.

In another one of the cases, the former nurse allegedly tried to kill a premature baby girl on three instances before she was successful. Afterward, she reportedly sent a sympathy card to the victim’s parents.

The trial continues.

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[Featured image: Lucy Letby/Police Handout]