Update: Nurse Lucy Letby charged with murdering eight babies and trying to murder 10 more after probe into hospital infant deaths

A children’s nurse will today appear in court charged with the murders of eight babies and the attempted murder of 10 more after an investigation into baby deaths at the Countess of Chester hospital neonatal unit in Cheshire.

Lucy Letby, 30, will appear at Warrington magistrates court on Thursday November 12. She was arrested for a third time on Tuesday as part of the investigation into the hospital. 

A force spokesman said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Cheshire police to charge a healthcare professional with murder in connection with an ongoing investigation into a number of baby deaths at the Countess of Chester hospital.”

He said Letby was facing eight charges of murder and 10 charges of attempted murder.

Detectives launched an investigation into infant deaths at the hospital in May 2017, over the deaths of 15 babies between June 2015 and June 2016 at that time.

The probe later widened to the deaths of 17 babies and 16 non-fatal collapses between March 2015 and July 2016.

After her arrest on Tuesday, police said parents of all the babies involved were being kept fully updated on developments and were being supported by officers.

In a 2013 interview with the Chester and District Standard newspaper, the nurse, originally from Hereford, said she cared for babies requiring various levels of support. 

She worked at the unit as a student nurse during three years of training before qualifying as a children’s nurse at the University of Chester in 2011, and she continued at the unit after graduating.