16 December 2024 , 17:01
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Lucy Letby’s lawyers have announced a fresh bid to challenge the child serial killer’s convictions after a key witness ‘changed his mind on the cause of death of three babies’.
Speaking at a press conference, Letby’s barrister Mark McDonald said he would immediately seek permission from the Court of Appeal to reopen the case after expert witness Dr Dewi Evans ‘remarkably’ changed his mind.
He told those in attendance: ‘Dr Evans had said to the jury that Lucy Letby had injected air down a nasal gastric tube and this had led to the death of the three babies.
‘This was repeated to the Court of Appeal, who may have been misled when they ruled on the application for leave against the convictions.
‘Dr Evans has also said that he has revised his opinion in relation to Baby C and has written a new report, a new report that he has given to the police, months ago now.
‘Despite numerous requests, the prosecution has yet to give this report to the defence.
‘The defence will argue that Dr Evans is not a reliable expert, and given that he was the lead expert for the prosecution, we say that all the convictions are not safe.’
Letby, 34, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was found guilty of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others while working as a neo-natal nurse between June 2015 and June 2016.
She has already lost two bids to challenge her convictions this year at the Court of Appeal– one in May for the seven murders and attempted murders, and another in October for the attempted murder of a baby girl, which saw her found guilty by a different jury at a retrial.
The Thirlwall Inquiry into how Letby was able to commit her crimes has heard evidence at Liverpool Town Hall since September and will resume in January, with findings expected to be published in autumn 2025.