Mother of baby attacked by Lucy Letby says her ‘world fell apart’

The mother of a baby girl who killer nurse Lucy Letby attempted to murder said their “world fell apart and changed forever” when she died three days later.

Child K was born “extremely premature” and her death following a planned transfer from the Countess of Chester to a more specialist hospital could not be attributed to Letby, jurors at Manchester Crown Court were told.

Reading her victim personal statement from the witness box as Letby looked on, tearfully at times, Child K’s mother said: “The impact and reactions that we experienced from that day onwards have all been very different and continue to be a part of our lives that most people, including ourselves, struggle to understand, talk about or show support of.”

She told the court it was “a bolt out of the blue” when police called a year later to reveal their daughter’s death was under investigation.

Child K’s mother went on: “We were in complete shock as from what we can recall my care and the care of (Child K) while under the Countess was superb and that within (Child K’s) most critical and needing time that anyone would think or try to knowingly hurt her was unthinkable. She was defenceless. She was in the right place to be looked after.

“And so, what ended up being the next seven-and-half years of investigation and the unknown began.

“Thinking that (Child K) had just fallen into the timeline for consideration, to (Child K) being confirmed as a baby that they would be pursuing a charge for attempted murder.

“How was this possible? How could we have let this happen to her? Why has this happened? What happens next? All questions that were unable to be answered and might never be able to be.

“One day we will have to sit our children down and explain what happened to their big sister and that right now is the biggest task to overcome as yet.

“How do we continue to have (Child K) in our lives positively, as a big sister and not a tainted memory associated with this unthinkable nightmare? We will ensure that (Child K) is seen as their big sister, forever spoken about and never forgotten within our family.

“(Child K) is not here, never will be. We will never have what would give us peace, closure, or a feeling of being a 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 possibly can.”