ALLEGED killer Countess of Chester Hospital nurse wrote: "I AM EVIL I DID THIS” in a note found at her Chester home.

Lucy Letby, 32, faces seven counts of murdering babies and 15 counts of attempted murder in relation to 10 further babies at the neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.

She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Concluding the prosecution opening at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday, October 13, prosecutor Nicholas Johnson KC showed the court notes which Letby had written, and which police had found at the time Letby was arrested at her Chester home in July 2018.

Mr Johnson said: "On July 3 she was arrested at her home, where the house was searched.

"In addition to some of the paperwork, they found some other interesting items.

"There were some Post-it notes with closely written words on them, some of which included the names of some of her colleagues.

"On some of the notes were phrases such as “Why/how has this happened – what process has led to this current situation. What allegations have been made and by who? Do they have written evidence to support their comments?

"In her writings, she expressed frustration at the fact that she was not being allowed back on the neonatal unit and wrote 'I haven’t done anything wrong and they have no evidence so why have I had to hide away?'

"Her notes also expressed concern for the long-term effects of what she feared was being alleged against her and there are also many protestations of innocence."

Mr Johnson also showed another note on a piece of paper, where Letby wrote: "I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough."

Also on the note was: "I am a horrible evil person" and, in capital letters, "I AM EVIL I DID THIS".

The word 'HATE' was also written in block capitals, circled several times.

Earlier, Mr Johnson said Letby murdered Child P, one of triplets on June 24, 2016 – the day after she is said to have murdered his brother, Child O.
Child P suffered an “acute deterioration” before preparations were put in place to move him to another hospital.

Just before the planned transfer, a doctor was said to be “optimistic” about his prospects but then “all of a sudden Lucy Letby said to him something like ‘he’s not leaving alive here, is he?’”, said Mr Johnson.

Shortly after, Child P collapsed and died, Manchester Crown Court heard.

He said: “That remark surprised (the doctor) but Lucy Letby’s prediction came true. After all, she knew what she had done to him and therefore she knew what was likely to happen. It is certainly what she intended because it was something she had done to so many other children.”

A coroner recorded the death as “prematurity” but independent experts who were tasked with reviewing Child P’s case said the most likely cause was air injected into his stomach which compromised his breathing.

After Child P’s death, Letby spent time with his parents and at one point took a photograph of Child P and his brother, Child O, in a cot, the court heard.

She denied causing Child P any deliberate harm.

The final incident was the alleged attempted murder by Lucy Letby of Child Q on June 25, 2016, the day after she allegedly killed Child P.

The Crown say the neo-natal nurse injected Child Q with excess air and a clear fluid, possibly water or saline, into his stomach via a nasogastric tube in a bid to murder him.

The youngster was later transferred to another hospital, where he went on to make a “rapid recovery” when removed from the “orbit of Lucy Letby”, said the prosecutor.

Mr Johnson said that following the events of June 2015 to June 2016, the consultants suspected the deaths and life-threatening collapses of the 17 children were “not medically explicable and were the result of the actions of Lucy Letby”.

The prosecutor told jurors: “No doubt they were acutely aware that making such an allegation against a nurse was as serious as it gets.

“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.”

The police were contacted and a “very lengthy and complex” investigation followed which involved instructing independent paediatricians and other specialists to review many cases that passed through the neo-natal unit, the court heard.

Following that review, the decision was made to arrest Lucy Letby on July 3, 2018.

The trial is due to hear a statement from the defence as the case continues.

Follow coverage here: https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/23044585.live-prosecution-finish-outlining-case-lucy-letby-trial/