Lucy Letby told police she did not dislodge baby’s tube, trial hears

In a 2019 interview, Letby told police she did not remember being stood next the incubator and did not recall whether there were any alarms sounding when Baby K’s condition worsened.

She said she would have expected the alarms to activate if the infant deteriorated.

Det Sgt Stonier said: “Explain to me what you were doing when Dr Jayaram walked into the nursery at this point?”

Letby said: “I don’t recall.”

The detective said Dr Jayaram’s evidence was that the monitor was show a drop in the infant’s oxygen saturation, which was continuing to fall, while the alarm was not sounding.

“I don’t know why the monitor wasn’t sounding”, Letby said.

Det Sgt Stonier said: “Did you turn the monitor off, Lucy?”

“No,” said Letby, who also denied deactivating the sound on the monitor when pressed by the detective.

The officer put to Letby that Dr Jayaram said Baby K’s breathing tube had been dislodged, and confirms the child had “suffered an event when you were the only one in the room”.

Letby said: “I didn’t dislodge the tube”.

She said she would have called for help if she noticed Baby K’s decline or that the tube had slipped, which she said she does not recall seeing.

The detective said: “He established the tube had dislodged 30 to 60 seconds before he entered the room, why did you not call for help the moment it became dislodged?”

The detective said: “His evidence suggests you would have had at least 30 seconds to react to the tube and it’s quite clear you didn’t, why didn’t you help (Baby K)?”

Letby replied: “I don’t remember the incident.”

The jury of six men and six women has been told Letby was convicted at a trial last year of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six other infants at the Countess of Chester between June 2015 and June 2016.

The defence case starts on Monday.