Formal inquest proceedings have commenced regarding the tragic deaths of five infants who were murdered by former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby while she was employed at the Countess of Chester Hospital. The hearings, which were opened and swiftly adjourned, mark a significant procedural step in the ongoing legal and public inquiry processes surrounding one of Britain's most harrowing healthcare scandals.
Coroner Formally Opens Proceedings for Five Victims
HM senior coroner for Cheshire, Jacqueline Devonish, officially opened the inquests on Wednesday for the babies identified as Baby C, Baby E, Baby I, Baby O, and Baby P. These infants lost their lives in 2015 and 2016 within the hospital's neonatal unit, where Letby was working at the time. During a concise twenty-minute hearing held in Warrington, coroner's officer Detective Inspector Darren Reid presented brief initial summaries of the circumstances surrounding each death as they were originally reported to the coroner in those years.
Detective Inspector Reid clarified that the request to open these inquests followed Lucy Letby's convictions, citing that there was reasonable suspicion of an unnatural cause of death in each case. Coroner Devonish expressed her satisfaction that a full inquest was indeed necessary for each child and proceeded to adjourn the proceedings. They are provisionally scheduled to take place between September 14 and 25, although this timeline remains contingent upon the conclusions of the separate Thirlwall public inquiry.
Connection to Wider Inquiry and Previous Legal Actions
Each of the five newly opened inquests has been formally suspended for a period of three months, with a review date set for May 5. Notably, the inquest for Baby D, which was initially opened back in January 2016, has also been suspended to coincide with this same review date. The highly anticipated report from Lady Justice Thirlwall's public inquiry, which is examining how Letby was able to perpetrate her crimes within the hospital setting, is expected to be published shortly after the Easter period.
This development follows the inquest into the death of Baby A, which was conducted in October 2016. That proceeding resulted in a narrative conclusion, stating that it could not be definitively determined what caused the infant's collapse and subsequent death, nor whether it resulted from natural or unnatural causes. It is noteworthy that at the time of Baby A's inquest, the serious concerns raised by consultant paediatricians in July 2016—which led to Letby's removal from clinical duties over suspicions she was deliberately harming babies—were not disclosed during the proceedings.
Recent Legal Developments and Ongoing Scrutiny
The opening of these inquests occurs in the wake of last month's announcement by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that it would not pursue further criminal charges against Lucy Letby. This decision came after Cheshire Constabulary submitted case files for consideration regarding alleged offences of murder and attempted murder related to two infants who died and seven others who survived incidents at the hospital. CPS authorities concluded that the evidential threshold required for prosecution was not met in any of these additional cases.
Lucy Letby, who is originally from Hereford, has been twice denied permission to appeal against her murder convictions in 2024. Meanwhile, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the independent body responsible for investigating potential miscarriages of justice, is currently examining evidence submitted on her behalf. This evidence includes analysis from an international panel of medical experts who contend that poor medical care and natural causes were responsible for the infants' collapses, rather than criminal actions.
The commencement of these inquests represents a crucial phase in seeking official conclusions and accountability for the families affected, while the parallel public inquiry aims to uncover systemic failures and prevent such tragedies in the future.
