British Nurse Accused of Killing 7 Babies Wrote 'I Killed Them on Purpose' in Note, Trial Hears

Lucy Letby, the nurse charged with killing seven babies, wrote that she was "evil" and "killed them on purpose" on Post-It notes found in her home, prosecutors in her ongoing trial claim.

Contents of the hand-written memos were presented in a Manchester Crown Court this week, according to the BBC.

The nurse, 32, faces 22 charges for allegedly killing five infant boys and two infant girls as well as attempting to murder 10 others at Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016. Letby has pleaded not guilty.

Authorities, prosecutors told the jury this week, discovered the Post-it notes during a search of Letby's home, the BBC reported.

"What allegations have been made and by who," one Post-it reportedly read. "Do they have written evidence to support their comments?"

While some notes, allegedly written by Letby, read that she's a "horrible evil person" who isn't "good enough," others included what prosecutor Nick Johnson told the court was "protestations of innocence." For instance, one includes the phrase "I haven't done anything wrong and they have no evidence so why have I had to hide away?"

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, that in a nutshell is your task in this case," Johnson told the jury. "Whether or not she did these dreadful things is the decision you will have to make when you have heard all the evidence."

Johnson previously said that child deaths at Countess of Chester's neo-natal unit were statistically comparable to other units before January 2015, per The Independent. The deaths, according to Johnson, then saw a "significant rise," including a rise in "babies who were dying and in the number of serious catastrophic collapses."

Defense attorney Ben Myers argued at the trial, which could last up to six months according to the BBC, that the Post-it notes brought in as evidence showed "anguish not guilt"— given that some read "I'll never marry or have children" and "I haven't done anything wrong."

During the hearing, one child, referred to as Child P, was said to have been murdered by Letby just one day after she allegedly murdered his brother Child O — both of whom were from a set of triplets. The baby suffered "acute deterioration," the BBC reported the court hearing, before Letby allegedly asked a doctor if the baby was "leaving alive."

Letby was also accused of using a nasogastric tube to fill another baby, Child Q, with excess air and a clear fluid. The baby then made a "rapid recovery" after leaving Letby's care and going to another hospital, the BBC reports. As Johnson told the jury, consultants found that the babies' deaths were "not medically explicable and were the result of the actions of Lucy Letby."

"No doubt they were acutely aware that making such an allegation against a nurse was as serious as it gets," Johnson reportedly said. "They did not, at the time, have the benefit of the evidence that you are going to hear and the decision was made by the hospital to remove Lucy Letby from a hands-on role. She was moved to clerical duties where she would not come into contact with children."

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Johnson has previously said Letby poisoned the babies with insulin, claiming that the collapsing of the infants were not "naturally occurring tragedies." The Cheshire Police Department shared that she was arrested on suspicion of committing the crimes in 2018, and "was subsequently bailed pending further enquiries."

A year later, she was arrested again "on suspicion of murder in relation to the deaths of 8 babies and the attempted murder of 6 babies," as well as "the attempted murder of three additional babies," the police shared.