Lawyers for convicted baby killer Lucy Letby and former executives at the hospital where she worked have asked a judge to halt an inquiry into the deaths after a panel of medical experts found no evidence of a crime.

Justice Kathryn Thirlwall announced the requests before hearing closing statements in the inquiry that began in September seeking accountability for staff and management for the harm to babies at Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England.

The inquiry was predicated on Letby’s guilt, and Thirlwall had said she would not review the convictions after an appeals court upheld them. But lawyers for Letby said that if the convictions are overturned, the inquiry might reach the wrong conclusions, and 10 million pounds ($13 million) spent so far will have been a waste of taxpayer funds.

“In short, it will defeat the purpose of a public inquiry, to fully and fearlessly understand the circumstances in which the babies died or became unwell,” attorney Louise Mortimer wrote in a letter to Thirlwall.

Thirlwall is expected to publish a final report in the fall.

  • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
    71·
    1 day ago

    It said evidence of schedules that showed Letby was present during all the deaths was “incomplete, selective and, therefore, meaningless.”