Letby's lawyers seek appeal after expert ‘changed mind'
The Independent|December 17, 2024
Lucy Letby's lawyers are seeking to launch a fresh appeal over her convictions after claiming that the prosecution's lead witness was "not reliable".
BARNEY DAVIS
Letby's lawyers seek appeal after expert ‘changed mind'

The serial killer nurse's barrister, Mark McDonald, said he would immediately seek permission from the Court of Appeal to take the "exceptional, but necessary, decision" to apply to reopen her case.

Speaking at a press conference at the Royal Society of Medicine in central London yesterday, Mr McDonald said that “remarkably”, Dr Dewi Evans had “changed his mind” over the mechanism of death involving three of Letby’s murder victims.

Letby, 34, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016.

The Thirlwall Inquiry into how Letby was able to commit her crimes has heard evidence at Liverpool Town Hall since September and will resume in January, with findings expected to be published in the autumn of 2025.

In his statement to reporters, Mr McDonald said: “Remarkably, Dr Evans has now changed his mind on the cause of death of three of the babies: Baby C, Baby I and Baby P. Dr Evans had said to the jury that Lucy Letby had injected air down a nasal gastric tube and this had led to the death of the three babies.

“Dr Evans has also said that he has revised his opinion in relation to Baby C and has written a new report – a new report that he has given to the police, months ago now. The defence will argue that Dr Evans is not a reliable expert, and given that he was the lead expert for the prosecution, we say that all the convictions are not safe.”

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