EVIL AND COWARDLY

Prolific Letby convicted of 7 infant murders | Refusal to face court for life sentencing | Police say only she can explain motive

- PAUL BYRNE

TWISTED nurse Lucy Letby will spend the rest of her life behind bars for murdering seven newborn babies and trying to kill six more.

Police fear there may be more tiny victims of the cowardly woman who refuses to go to court on Monday to hear her sentence.

The most prolific serial killer of children in recent UK history, she preyed on premature infants from June 2015 to June 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital - but officers found no motive for her crimes.

Det Supt Paul Hughes, who led the investigation, said: "Ultimately, the only person who can answer in respect of 'why', is Lucy Letby.

"I don't think we'll ever know unless she decides to tell us." The Government has ordered an independent inquiry into the case.

And the judge, The Hon Mr Justice Goss, said he is "powerless" to force her to attend Monday's sentencing.

The Mirror's Face Justice campaign is calling for a law to force killers to face victims' families.

GASPED

Verdicts were delivered over a series of days by the jury. But nothing could be reported until decisions were made on all 22 charges. As each guilty verdict was returned, parents of the babies wept and hugged in court.

Letby, 33, sobbed as she was convicted on Tuesday last week of trying to murder two infants by poisoning them with insulin.

Last Friday, after being convicted of four murders and two attempted murders, tears streamed down her face as her mum Susan wailed: "You can't be serious. This can't be right."