A nurse accused of murdering babies has denied she “enjoyed the aftermath” of a child’s death.
Lucy Letby gave evidence for a seventh day at Manchester Crown Court, where she is standing trial charged with murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others.
The children were allegedly attacked at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.
Letby’s cross-examination entered its third day on Friday, continuing with the case of Child C – a baby boy who died in the early hours of 14 June 2015.
He was fed at 11pm before collapsing just 15 minutes later, and died five hours later in his mother’s arms, the court has heard.
Lucy Letby accused of ‘faking hospital notes’ for alibi – updates from court as they happened
“You enjoyed the aftermath of this, didn’t you?” prosecutor Nick Johnson KC asked Letby.
“No,” she replied.
A colleague previously testified that they had to keep pulling Letby from the family room as Child C died.
“Why were you so keen to involve yourself with the family as they cradled their dying son?” Mr Johnson asked.
Letby said: “I agree I probably went round at some point, but not repeatedly and I don’t recall my colleague having to pull me back out.”
She said she may have been helping the family make mementoes, including hand and footprints. But the prosecution claimed it would have been unusual to do this while he was still alive.
Facebook searches and WhatsApp messages
Letby’s Facebook searches and WhatsApp messages were also shown to the court.
The prosecution claims Child D, a baby girl, died after an intentional injection of air into her bloodstream. She collapsed three times – on the third time she could not be revived.
Letby searched for Child D’s father on Facebook, three months after the infant died despite originally telling police she didn’t remember his child, the jury was told.
A text message from one of Letby’s colleagues after the death of Child D expressed surprise at the death.
“We had such a rubbish night. Our job is just far too sad sometimes,” Letby texted.
The colleague asked what happened and Letby told her Child D had died.
“What!!!! But she was improving What happened,” the woman texted.
In a second text, her colleague said: “Wanna chat? I can’t believe you were on again. You are having such a tough time.”
Letby described the situation as “so upsetting for everyone. Parents absolutely distraught, dad screaming”.
Letby later texted her colleague saying: “Hmm well it’s happened & that’s it. Got to carry on. I finish for nearly 2 weeks after next Fri, so I’ll keep ploughing on.”
The prosecution claimed this is evidence she wasn’t affected by the infant’s death.
“You were enjoying this, weren’t you, Lucy Letby?” Mr Johnson asked her.
“No,” she replied.
Further texts suggested colleagues felt there was something suspicious about the number of deaths taking place on the neonatal unit.
“There was just something odd about that night,” a colleague texted Letby – referring to the night Child D died – before adding that she was “just speculating”.
‘Falsified’ paperwork
Letby also denied she falsified paperwork to give herself an alibi at the time Child D fatally collapsed.
The prosecution claims Letby altered paperwork to make it appear as if she was looking after another baby when Child D collapsed.
“Did you think the paperwork wouldn’t tie you to Child D at the time she collapsed?” Mr Johnson asks.
After asking him to rephrase the question, Letby said: “No, I had other babies. I wasn’t caring for Child D.”
The defendant, from Hereford, the charges against her.
The trial continues on Wednesday.