Lucy Letby sentenced to 15th whole life term after retrial.

Former nurse Lucy Letby has been sentenced to another whole life term for trying to kill a premature baby girl.

She is already in jail for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

After a retrial, Letby, 34, was convicted of trying to murder another girl, known as Baby K.

Letby’s original murder trial jury acquitted her of two counts of attempted murder, and there were six further charges on which jurors could not decide, including that of Baby K.

The retrial jury convicted her of trying to murder the "very premature" infant by dislodging her breathing tube in the early hours of 17 February 2016. 

The court heard how Letby targeted the child after the baby’s transfer from the delivery room to the neo-natal unit. About 90 minutes after her birth, Letby dislodged the breathing tube through which she was being ventilated with air and oxygen.

The jury agreed the former nurse then stood by her incubator as she watched her blood oxygen levels drop, without intervening.

Consultant paediatrician, Dr Ravi Jayaram, said he had caught her "virtually red-handed" as he entered the unit's intensive care room at about 03:45.

Dr Jayaram, who intervened to resuscitate the child, told jurors he saw "no evidence" that Letby had done anything to help the deteriorating baby.  He said he heard no call for help from Letby or alarms as Baby K's blood oxygen levels suddenly dropped.

Baby K was transferred to a specialist unit on 17 February because of her extreme prematurity and died there three days later.

The cause of death was certified as extreme prematurity and severe respiratory distress syndrome.

Letby told the jury she had no recollection of any such event as described by Dr Jayaram and did not accept it had taken place.

She denied doing anything harmful to Baby K and insisted she had not committed any of the offences of which she had been convicted.

Judge, Mr Justice Goss, KC told Letby: "It was another shocking act of calculated, callous cruelty.” 

He told her she had "betrayed the trust of Baby K, her parents, and all those at the hospital. You have coldly denied responsibility. You have shown no remorse. There are no mitigating factors." 

Baby K’s mother, who became pregnant with Baby K after a miscarriage, read a statement to the court in the presence of Letby.

She said: "The devastation expands so far and for so long when a child is lost, let alone under these circumstances. 

"Will we get answers and the verdict that we want? Will that bring some peace and closure? Baby K is not here, never will be. We will never have what would give us peace, closure, or a feeling of being complete family unit.

"However, you, Lucy Letby, will never hurt another child or have the privilege and joy that children give. 

"Our time and effort that you have absorbed over the years will stop today and our focus will remain on our beautiful children and building the most exciting and love filled life that we possible can."

Det chief inspector, Nicola Evans, from Cheshire Police, said the sentence "once again reflects the true scale and gravity of her horrific crimes.

“It also highlights the torturous journey that Baby K’s parents have had to endure at court, sitting and listening to extremely upsetting and distressing evidence about their newborn daughter, against constant denials from Letby. They have had to do this not once, but twice.”

A public inquiry into how Letby was able to commit her crimes on the neo-natal unit is set to begin at Liverpool Town Hall on 10 September.

Letby's legal team unsuccessfully brought a Court of Appeal challenge about her previous murder and attempted murder convictions in April this year. 

Her barrister, Ben Myers KC, argued that the trial judge, Mr Justice Goss, was wrong to tell the jury they did not need to be sure of the precise act which caused Letby’s victims harm.

He said: “They should have been told they should have been sure of the act. They must have certainty as to the act that lay behind the allegations of deliberate harm.”

But prosecutor Mr Johnson KC, stated the argument was “not tenable” and that while medical evidence was “at the heart of pretty much all” of the prosecution’s argument, it formed “only part of the circumstances of the case” and that Letby “was always there when things happened.”

Other arguments were also made by Letby's defence team, including how the judge had dealt with "jury irregularity."

Dame Victoria Sharp and Lord Justice Holroyde dismissed Letby’s  appeal bid in May, with their written reasons to be published later.

Medical director at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Nigel Scawn, said he was "extremely sorry that these awful crimes happened at our hospital.”

He added: "Since Lucy Letby worked at our hospital, we have made significant changes to our services and remain committed to providing high quality safe care to our local communities."

Dr Scawn acknowledged the impact that the Letby case continued to have on everyone involved, adding he was "grateful for the unwavering cooperation and professionalism of our staff, some of whom returned to court to repeat evidence and relive events."