'Child serial killer' Lucy Letby not to face any further charges after CPS review

Lucy Letby, the former neonatal nurse convicted of killing babies, will not face any further criminal charges after prosecutors ruled that the evidence did not meet the required legal threshold. Cheshire Constabulary had submitted additional material to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in 2025, asking prosecutors to consider fresh allegations involving deaths and collapses of infants. These included eight suspected cases of attempted murder and one suspected murder at the Countess of Chester Hospital, as well as two further allegations linked to a single child at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

After reviewing the evidence, the CPS decided no further prosecutions would be pursued. Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the review covered allegations relating to two infant deaths and seven non-fatal collapses. He explained that prosecutors concluded the evidential test required for criminal charges had not been satisfied in any of the cases. The decision, he said, was made independently and strictly in line with legal standards. Families affected by the allegations have been informed of the outcome and will be offered meetings with prosecutors to discuss how the decision was reached.

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Who is Lucy Letby?

Lucy Letby appeared to lead an ordinary life before her arrest in July 2018, a fact noted by detectives who later described her as outwardly unremarkable. Born in Hereford in January 1990, she attended local schools before studying nursing at the University of Chester, becoming the first in her family to attend university. She completed placements at both the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Letby qualified as a band five nurse in 2011 and was generally regarded by colleagues as capable. However, a public inquiry later heard that she initially failed her final student placement due to concerns she appeared emotionally distant and lacked empathy. That decision was overturned following an appeal and reassessment. At the time of her arrest, Letby lived alone in a modest semi-detached home in Chester with her two cats and maintained an active social life.

What was she convicted of?

During a nine-month trial at Manchester Crown Court, jurors were told that Letby was repeatedly present during a series of unexplained collapses and deaths of premature and vulnerable babies on the neonatal unit where she worked.

Prosecutors alleged she deliberately harmed infants through methods including injecting air into their bloodstream, administering insulin, overfeeding milk, and causing physical trauma. The charges focused on incidents between June 2015 and June 2016, a period after which she was removed from frontline nursing duties.

A hospital rota played a key role in the prosecution case, showing that Letby was the only staff member present during all of the incidents deemed suspicious. In August 2023, Letby was convicted of seven counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder. She was acquitted on two further attempted murder charges, while the jury failed to reach verdicts on six others. Following a retrial in July 2024, she was found guilty of an additional count of attempted murder.