At the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016, Ms. Letby is charged with the death of seven infants and the attempted murder of ten more.
The 33-year-old, a native of Hereford, has refuted all accusations.
The jury has been instructed to approach their deliberations in a “fair, calm, objective, and analytical way” by Judge Mr. Justice James Goss.
Nine months of testimony were presented to the jury, which included allegations that Ms. Letby intentionally gave babies air injections, forced others to drink milk, and poisoned several with insulin.
Ms. Letby has argued that she did not damage any of the infants and has brought up concerns about the hospital’s low sanitation and staffing levels.
She has also claimed that senior doctors have conspired against her to hide shortcomings in her care.
Eight women and four men on the jury at Manchester Crown Court were instructed by Mr. Justice Goss that they had to “be sure of the defendant’s guilt or not” in regard to every accusation.
The judge noted that many of the kids had experienced “unexpected life-threatening collapses” and reminded the jury of the prosecution’s claim that there were numerous “common factors” at play.
According to prosecutor Nick Johnson KC, Ms. Letby was working when each infant passed out.
11 additional similar themes were also mentioned by Mr. Johnson, ranging from strange skin discolorations to babies passing out right after receiving a visit from their parents.
The prosecution claimed that “this is not a series of unrelated events,” according to Mr. Justice Goss.
They contend that the jury “can be sure the defendant committed all the offences” when all the relevant information is taken into account, including expert testimony, post-mortem examination results, and notes and nursing handover sheets found at Ms. Letby’s residence.
He reminded the jury that Ms. Letby had maintained her innocence and that her case had been that she was a diligent and committed nurse.
Ms. Letby testified throughout the trial that the handover sheets found at her house were mistakenly stolen from the hospital.
The judge also brought up notes that were discovered at Ms. Letby’s house, in which she scribbled things such, “I am evil, I did this.”
According to the defense, she wrote them as a “product of despair” after being demoted from front-line nursing duties and put in a secretarial position.
He added that the list of “common factors” in the cases presented by the prosecution was rejected by the defense because it failed to show a pattern.
The jury cannot in any circumstance be certain of Ms. Letby’s guilt, according to the defense.
Mr. Justice Goss asked the panel to “respect each other’s opinions” before telling the jury to keep their discussions private.
During their meetings, he added “no one should be, or feel, pressured.”
Instructing the jury to achieve “unanimous verdicts on each count on the indictment” was the judge’s final instruction.
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