The former neo-natal nurse, Lea Letby, who has been found guilty of murdering seven babies, in Chester England, in August 2023, has been well supported by some members of the public. Some have even reported lead expert witness, Dr Dewi Evans to the General Medical Council (GMC).
Last week, Lucy Letby was sentenced to a 15th whole-life term for trying to kill a premature baby girl. The 34-year-old had already been imprisoned for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital during 2015 and 2016.
Dr Evans, a retired paediatrician from Carmarthen, Wales who was the lead medical expert in the case, said he was shocked but not too surprised to hear about the complaints against him.
He told Radio 4's Today programme that "back in the day" it was "not uncommon" for supporters of abusers to intimidate doctors by complaining to the GMC.
"This occurred quite a lot in the '80s and '90s, but to occur now is rather surprising," he said.
Dr Evans has had CCTV installed at his home and avoids social media to avoid opposition from her supporters. Some of those that believe Letby is innocent have targeted Dr Evans online. However, he said he has avoided social media and had CCTV installed at his home following another child abuse case a few years ago.
"It’s such a shocking thing to come to terms with and of course one of the ways of dealing with shocking news is to go into denial and shoot the messenger," he said. "This is what’s happened in this particular case."
He said it was "very, very difficult" to come to terms with the fact these murders were "not caused by an old individual" but by a "young, white, English nurse from a respectable background. How on earth can you stomach that? And one of the ways of dealing with it is to deny that it happened."
Dr Dewi Evans said he thought Letby got away with her crimes, aside from the "incompetence of general managers", because she "hid in plain sight".
"She superficially appeared as a fairly normal person, and this is essential for anyone who commits a crime hiding in plain sight.
"It happened with Harold Shipman, it happened with Jimmy Savile, it is crucial to their getting away with it that they appear normal."
Her actions were premeditated and methodical, often targeting vulnerable premature babies and then manipulating medical records to cover her tracks. Letby's crimes involved administering lethal doses of air, insulin, or milk to the infants in her care. The case was one of the most shocking and most deadly of healthcare-related crimes in recent UK history,
https://nann.org/about/what-is-neonatal-nursing#:~:text=Neonatal%20nursing%20is%20a%20subspecialty,are%20often%20sick%20for%20months.
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