Nurse Lucy Letby, Britain's most notorious serial child killer in modern times, will spend the rest of her life behind bars, a judge ordered on Monday after she was found guilty of killing seven infants and plotting to kill six others.
Letby, 33, murdered five boys and two girls at the neonatal unit of Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England, where she worked in 2015 and 2016, injecting babies with insulin or air give birth or force them to suckle.
Some of the people she attacked were twins - in one case she killed both siblings, in another, she killed two of three triplets, and in two cases, she murdered one twin but was unsuccessful in her attempt to kill the other.
Judge James Goss, who sentenced him to life in prison with no prospect of release, said: "This is a cruel, calculated, and cynical campaign of child murder involving young children. and most vulnerable.
"There is a deep malice almost sadistic in your actions... You have no regrets. There are no extenuating circumstances... You'll be in jail for the rest of your life."
Life sentences are rare and only three women in the UK have ever received such sentences, including serial killers Myra Hindley and Rosemary West.
Letby refused to leave his cell to hear his sentencing, leading to a demand that criminals be forced to hear the impact of their actions on the victim or their family.
The mother of one of the victims described it as the final act of the crime. The heartbreaking crimes of Letby, who was in his twenties when he committed his murders, have horrified Britain and ruined the lives of the victims' families while having a lasting impact on her colleagues.
She was found guilty last week of seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder following a 10-month trial at Manchester Crown Court. The jurors could not agree that she attempted to kill six people and acquitted her of two other counts of attempted murder.
Before that, the court heard touching and heartbreaking testimonies from the parents of those she murdered and intended to kill, recounting the horror and grief of losing their children.
“No amount of pain can compare to the excruciating agony we have to endure as a result of your actions,” said the mother of a boy she murdered. "Lucy Letby has ruined our lives. The anger and hatred I have for her will never go away," the trio's father said in a statement.
A mother of twins, one of whom was murdered while the other survived, says she hopes Letby lives a long life, suffering every day for what she did.
"My family will never think of you again - from today you are nothing," said the mother.
