Convicted Baby Murderer Lucy Letby's Chance At Appeal Snuffed Out

Lucy Letby, the infamous child serial killer, has lost her final chance at appealing her murder convictions.

According to multiple sources, the former neonatal nurse attempted to push four different grounds of appeal, each arguing that a trial judge had wrongly refused her application. However, this move failed in the Court of Appeal on Friday.

Dame Victoria Sharp, Lord Justice Holroyde, and Lady Justice Lambert, a panel of three of England's most senior judges at the Court of Appeal in London, have officially rejected Letby's application to appeal her case.

The full reasons for the judge's decision were not made public for legal reasons, as well as the details of Letby's appeal bid. However, sources reported Dame Victoria had declared:

"Having heard her application, we have decided to refuse leave to appeal on all grounds and refuse all associated applications. A full judgment will be handed down in due course."

The senior judges first received Letby's appeal bid in April at a two-and-a-half-day hearing. There, Dame Victoria revealed the alleged child murderer's appeal was argued on four points related to the judge at her trial refusing her application.

Shortly after her trial ended at Manchester Crown Court in August 2023, Letby reportedly applied for permission to appeal her convictions. However, a judge dismissed her bid after reviewing her arguments.

According to sources, the legal umpire refused her application because he deemed her arguments a paper exercise. After losing the first stage of her application, Letby's attorneys renewed it before the panel of judges at the Court of Appeal.

However, the Court of Appeal judges' refusal cemented the end of Letby's appeal process. Now, the former neonatal nurse has one legal battle left to face — the retrial of one count of attempted murder.

The case is scheduled to take place at Manchester Crown Court in June over the crime of attempting to murder a baby girl, known as Child K, in February 2016.

BBC, The Telegraph and The Standard all reported.

News of Letby's appeal rejection received mixed reactions from social media users on X, with some supporting the judges' decision. One individual applauded the judgment in favor of the former nurse's victims, writing:

"I'm so glad that Lucy Letby has lost her bid to appeal against her convictions for murdering seven babies. This is a good day for the families of her victims. I hope she rots in jail #LucyLetby."

Another supporter echoed similar sentiments chiming in, "Lucy Letby denied permission for baby murders appeal - The judiciary making the right call, whatever next! Why don't they just throw away the key!"

"Imagine thinking you have a chance after her crimes. The audacity is unbelievable," a third declared, while a fourth penned:

"Lucy Letby should be concentrating on her jail time. No point even contemplating on getting an appeal. There just isn't. What she did was messed up. What she did can't be forgiven."

While many supported the appeal refusal, others claimed something was wrong with Letby's case. These conspiracy theorists implied influential figures were trying to condemn the former nurse for their crimes, with someone speculating:

"If she killed 7, what about the other ten deaths she wasn't involved in and the diabolical stillbirth rate? This is a cover-up for corporate manslaughter."

"To understand how deeply incompetent the police investigation into Lucy Letby was, consider that Cheshire constabulary mistook LD—which stands for "long day," a twelve-hour shift—for a secret code about murdering babies. It would be funny if it weren't so tragic," another X user argued.

A third implored others to question the panel's decision, writing, "Wrongful convictions are sadly common. This could happen to you. Ask yourself if you would want Lucy Letby to have an appeal and retrial if she was your relative or friend. #lucyletby."

Last August, The Blast reported that Letby was convicted of killing seven infants and attempting to kill six others between 2015 and 2016. During a 10-month trial, she was found guilty of 14 out of 22 charges, including a "cruel, calculated, and cynical campaign of child murder."

Judge Justice Goss declared that Letby's crimes were too severe to grant her early release provisions. Therefore, he determined that she deserved "a whole life order on each and every offense" and would spend the rest of her life in prison.

Pascale Jones from the Crown Prosecution Service celebrated the judgment in favor of the grieving families, noting that Letby "will never again be able to inflict the suffering she did while working as a neonatal nurse."