Police believe convicted UK baby murderer Lucy Letby may have harmed dozens more

It comes after Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies while working.
It comes after Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies while working. Photo credit: Associated Press

Police believe UK nurse Lucy Letby who killed seven babies in one year may have attempted to harm dozens more at a women's hospital.

According to The Guardian, detectives have allegedly identified around 30 further babies at Countess of Chester Hospital who suffered "suspicious" incidents.

Thirty-three-year-old Letby was on duty for each of these unexplained collapses, The Guardian reported.

All 30 of these babies survived and could demonstrate further the breadth of Letby's year-long campaign of preying on vulnerable newborn infants.

Alongside the murder of seven babies between 2015 and 2016, Letby was convicted last week of attempting to kill six more in "persistent, calculated and cold-blooded" attacks.

After weeks of deliberation, the Manchester Crown Court jury found her attacks were "a complete betrayal of the trust placed in her," in the words of senior prosecutor Pascale Jones.

"Too many of them returned home to empty baby rooms," Jones said.

"Surviving children live with permanent consequences of her assaults upon their lives."

She is facing a whole-life sentence in prison, meaning there is no chance of obtaining parole.

The motives behind the killings remain unclear, however the scale of her crimes, involving various methods of poisoning and injecting air into infants' bloodstreams, points to careful planning.

According to The Guardian, police have found it difficult to obtain medical evidence, due to the methods leaving little trace and the amount of time that has passed.

The police investigation into her activities continues under the name Operation Hummingbird.