Recent evidence obtained by the BBC indicates that more babies in Lucy Letby’s care were harmed, including one case where a baby was allegedly poisoned with insulin.
Letby, a former nurse, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016. This included attempts to poison two infants with insulin.
Documents reviewed by BBC One’s Panorama suggest a third baby may have been poisoned shortly after Letby began caring for him. Medical records show that this infant’s blood sugar level dropped dramatically, and lab tests revealed suspiciously high insulin levels.
Panorama also found that serious incidents involving infants happened during nearly one-third of Letby’s 33 shifts while she was training at Liverpool Women’s Hospital from 2012 to 2015.
These findings come after months of scrutiny over the prosecution’s case during Letby’s first trial. Several experts have raised concerns about the medical evidence used to convict her and the statistics presented in court.
In August 2023, Letby was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In July 2024, she was found guilty of attempting to murder a seventh baby during a second trial and received a 15th whole-life prison term. She has been denied the opportunity to appeal her initial convictions.
Panorama has investigated ongoing questions from leading statisticians and medical experts regarding the validity of her convictions. New evidence has emerged, suggesting other sick and premature infants might have been harmed while under Letby’s care.
When the body produces insulin, it also generates a substance called C-peptide. Normally, the level of C-peptide is five to ten times higher than that of insulin. During the first trial, blood tests from two babies revealed they had high insulin levels but very low C-peptide levels. The prosecution argued that this indicated the insulin was administered rather than produced naturally.
While Letby’s legal team did not dispute the insulin evidence in court, they also did not accept it. During cross-examination, Letby acknowledged that the two babies must have been poisoned but denied doing it herself.
New evidence presented in Panorama shows a blood test from a third baby cared for by Letby in November 2015 also showed high insulin levels and low C-peptide levels. The insulin level was recorded at over 6,945 picomoles per liter, a very high figure. If the insulin were natural, the C-peptide level would typically range from 35,000 to 70,000; however, this baby’s test showed only 220.
At the time, neonatal unit consultants believed the insulin must have been produced naturally. Later tests revealed the infant had congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI), a condition where the body produces too much insulin. However, four experts told Panorama that CHI could not account for such an unusually high insulin reading, especially given the low C-peptide level. They also noted that a baby with CHI would not produce such excessive amounts of insulin.
Medical records indicate how quickly the infant’s condition deteriorated after Letby started her shift. A blood test taken at 6:56 a.m. showed a normal blood sugar level of three millimoles per liter (mmol/L). After Letby began her shift at 8:00 a.m., by 1:54 p.m., the baby’s blood sugar level had dropped to one mmol/L, indicating dangerously high insulin levels. The baby’s blood sugar remained low throughout Letby’s shift, only returning to normal after she finished work at 8:00 p.m.
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