Letby: manslaughter probe into Countess of Chester ‘widened’

The hospital where Lucy Letby murdered babies is now being investigated for gross negligence manslaughter as well as corporate manslaughter, police have announced.

Cheshire Constabulary has released a statement saying that its corporate manslaughter investigation into the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been “widened”.

“We will not be confirming the number of people involved or their identity"

The scope of the investigation now includes gross negligence manslaughter, which is where a death is caused by an otherwise lawful but grossly negligent “act or omission” by an individual or individuals.

The corporate manslaughter investigation, which is looking into the actions of senior leaders at the hospital trust in relation to deaths at the neonatal unit, was launched in October 2023.

This happened a few months after the conviction of 35-year-old Letby for the murder of seven babies and attempted murder of six others while working as a neonatal nurse at the trust in 2015 and 2016.

Letby was later found guilty of attempting to murder a seventh baby.

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Source: Nursing Times, 14 March 2025