Rachel Morgan writes: Maternity notes containing crucial information about the seven babies Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering at the Countess of Chester Hospital were not made available to her defence team, despite being seized by Cheshire Police. The omission has sparked questions about the thoroughness of evidence considered in the high-profile case.
Letby, a former neonatal nurse, is serving 15 whole life terms after being found guilty in 2023 of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others between 2015 and 2016. The BBC's investigation reveals that while the police did seize comprehensive maternity notes – detailing mothers' pregnancies, labours, and births – they were neither reviewed by the prosecution's lead medical expert nor disclosed to Letby's defence.
Dr Dewi Evans, chief medical witness for the prosecution, stated he only reviewed brief maternity summaries attached to each baby's neonatal records, not the full obstetric notes. He acknowledged that even if the prosecution didn't use them to build their case, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) should have disclosed the full records to the defence.
Professor Phil Bennett, an expert in obstetrics and gynaecology at Imperial College London, expressed surprise at the lack of attention paid to maternity care in these cases. He noted that standard practice when investigating infant deaths mandates a combined consideration of both maternity and neonatal care to reach accurate conclusions. Professor Bennett has since reviewed one case, Baby O, and suggests an alternative explanation for the baby's death – a liver condition caused by injury during a Caesarean section.
The CPS maintains that Letby's convictions followed two jury trials and that the Court of Appeal dismissed her challenge regarding alleged flaws in the prosecution's evidence. They justified non-disclosure on grounds the records were not used by the prosecution, but the BBC has seen evidence confirming the defence requested them, only to be denied.
This revelation adds to existing concerns surrounding aspects of the evidence presented to the jury during Letby's trial and subsequent retrial. The debate over the relevance and disclosure of these critical medical records could have significant implications for future legal processes involving complex medical evidence.