3 leaders at U.K. hospital where a nurse was convicted of murdering babies are arrested

This undated handout photo issued by Cheshire Constabulary shows of nurse Lucy Letby. (Cheshire Constabulary via AP, File)

Content warning: This story contains mention of violence against children. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

LONDON — Three senior leaders at the English hospital where nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering babies were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, police said Tuesday.

The people under investigation for gross negligence manslaughter were arrested when a corporate manslaughter probe was expanded following Letby’s 2023 convictions for the infant deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England, said Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes of the Cheshire Constabulary.

“This focuses on senior leadership and their decision-making to determine whether any criminality has taken place concerning the response to the increased levels of fatalities,” Hughes said.

Letby, 35, is serving multiple life sentences with no chance of release after being convicted of seven counts of murder and attempting to murder seven other infants between June 2015 and June 2016 while working as a neonatal nurse at the hospital.

Letby was convicted in a sensational trial two years ago, but since then support for her has grown as a panel of medical experts disputed the evidence against her and a lawyer said she was wrongly convicted.

The three suspects were not named and were released on bail.

Hughes said the arrests don’t have an impact on Letby’s convictions.

The Associated Press