Does sympathy have satisfaction? Does one feel better when others pity them? Does it give them “main-character-energy?”
Countless questions revolve around the cruelty of Lucy Letby. What could possibly be the reason for harming the most vulnerable section of society?
Lucy Letby, the 33-year-old neonatal nurse at Countess of Chester Hospital, was charged with the murder of seven babies, including five premature baby boys and two newborn girls. She was additionally charged with the attempted murder of six other babies.
But even then, the malevolent woman maintained her innocence in her defense with a sob story and got away with it for the longest time. Some pointed out her profiling as a Caucasian woman with such an entrusted medical designation shielded her cruel intentions.
Moreover, some of her colleagues also vouched for her character, stating that she is nowhere close to being a usual suspect.
It all began in 2015 when the mortality rate under neonatal care escalated drastically. Investigators had to intervene in hospital operations when the death toll kept rising. It didn’t take them long enough to narrow it down to one suspect– Lucy Letby, who was consistently clocked when the time of death of the patient was announced. This went on for a couple of years. But one thing remained consistent– Lucy’s blatant display of grief and over-the-top crying after each death.
But the narcissism of attention obscured her judgment of evil as she killed the babies by either injecting them with air or force-feeding them milk.
Her cruelty doesn’t end here– she poisoned two babies with insulin and tampered with feeding tubes, which caused internal injuries to children’s necks and other body parts. Read here for the complete harrowing details on how she went on a murder spree.
Even after all the evidence pointed to her, Lucy Letby never really confessed in front of everyone to brutally killing the babies. On top of it, she shamelessly requested absence from the court trials when her verdict would be announced.
Did Lucy Letby Do It?
There was no speck of doubt that Lucy Letby killed the babies. The investigators gathered enough evidence to prove her guilty before the jury.
Moreover, one man kept persisting that Lucy Letby was up to criminal activities in the hospital.
But he was met with strong resistance from the hospital. And in the worst events, he was asked to apologize to Letby and mediate with the killer nurse.
Justice James Goss announced the final verdict on Lucy Letby with a stern statement against her cruel act in her absence from the court.
“There was a deep malevolence bordering on sadism in your actions.”
“During the course of this trial, you have coldly denied any responsibility for your wrongdoing. You have no remorse. There are no mitigating factors.”
Considering the number of killings and the nature of the heinous crimes by an individual who is literally responsible for saving the lives of infants, Judge Goss stated that these “exceptional circumstances” needed a rare “whole-life order.” So far, only three women have received such harsh sentences in the UK.
Did Lucy Letby Confess?
Lucy never directly confessed to her crimes. She instead blamed the hospital for unhygienic nursing rooms, which might have resulted in infections and other internal complications among the babies.
However, the lead investigator of Letby’s case, Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, revealed the horrendous content of scribbled letters found in Letby’s apartment. He inferred that “She clearly loves the attention, I think she loved the attention of a trial as well. But if we are looking for why she’s done this, then to re-use her own words, ‘she is evil and she did this’.”
They found a trove of incriminating evidence from these scribbled post-its, which also included the following notes–
“I AM EVIL, I DID THIS. There are no words. I am an awful person – I pay every day for that. I can’t breathe. I can’t focus. Kill myself right now. Overwhelming fear/panic. I’ll never have children or marry. I’ll never know what it’s like to have a family. NO HOPE.”
The notes got increasingly diabolical and incomprehensible–
“I haven’t done anything wrong. Police investigation forget slander. Discrimination. Victimisation. All getting too much, everything taking over my life. Hate myself so much for what this has . . . I feel very alone and scared.”
“What does the future hold. How can I get through it. How will things ever be like they used. HATE. PANIC. FEAR. LOST. I don’t deserve to live. I DID THIS. WHY ME? I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough for them and I am a horrible evil person. I don’t deserve Mum and Dad. World is better off without me.”
Does Lucy Letby Have Munchausen?
Many psychological experts deduced that Lucy had a condition called Munchausen syndrome, where someone gets pleasure from getting attention when they fall sick or are suffering from a grave illness. They deliberately create a situation where they pretend to be ill or make someone else sick to get sympathy from others over how they manage such challenging circumstances.
Lucy Letby displayed most signs of this syndrome– she choreographed a system where she would get center stage. She killed the babies and pretended to mourn their deaths. This gave a notion that Letby is going through a lot, and people would sympathize with her.
Although there is no definite proof that Letby had Munchausen Syndrome, this is the most popular theory ib why she committed these serial murders.
Another possible intention was that Lucy developed a crush on one of the male doctors and would harm the babies so that he could rush into the room to help her. However, Letby denied these claims and suggested that the hospital was conspiring against her.
Munchausen syndrome is mainly observed among medical professionals who thrive on “being an unsung hero” or play the victim of “unrewarded labor.” But in reality, they are just evil people who want attention, like in the true crime story of the killer nurse in Denmark.
How Long Did Lucy Letby Get?
Lucy was sentenced to life in prison on Monday without the possibility of parole. She was convicted of murdering seven babies under her care. She was also found duality of attempted murder of six other babies, who have since developed several complications and trauma.
The judge based this verdict stating that she was cruel, cunning, and callous and acted with “malevolence bordering sadism.”
What is your verdict on this case? Do you think Lucy got away with the murders because she did not fit the “killer’s” profile?
Should the judge have intervened in her request of absence from court? Let us know in the comments section below.
