This has just been put up on the Cheshire Police Facebook page::
Operation Hummingbird was launched following an increase in deaths and non-fatal collapses of vulnerable, new-born babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital. We're going to explain the timeline of the case, our investigation and how this led to the conviction of Lucy Letby in this post.
It’s going to be quite long and fairly detailed but hopefully you’ll find it informative and it may answer some of your questions.
We’ll make reference to images and videos that add context as we go by putting a number and description in brackets, like ‘(1 – arrest footage)’ for example – if you check the comments we’ll link the relevant media down there – sort them by most relevant and our comments should appear at or near the top.
What we won’t be doing is talking about Letby where we can avoid it. Enough will be written about her by others – our focus is and always has been the babies and families involved and to see justice done. Be warned that some of what we’ll discuss may be highly upsetting.
In early May 2017 we were contacted by The Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust following concerns regarding a greater number of baby deaths and collapses between June 2015 and June 2016 than would normally be expected.
This led to us launching Operation Hummingbird. As time went on and further information came to light the scope widened and further cases were reviewed. Letby was formally identified as a suspect and on 3 July 2018 was arrested for the first time at her home in Chester. (1 – arrest footage)
As we continued our investigation she was later rearrested in June 2019 and again in Nov 2020. Across these three arrests almost 30 hours of video interviews were captured. This clip concerns notes she had made, which you may have seen reported at the start of the trial. (2 – interview footage)
We understand some may be confused why this story kept entering the media and reappearing, seemingly running for a very long time without action. Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, Senior Investigating Officer in this case, sums it up well; “This has been a highly complex and extremely sensitive investigation over the past six years. We had to go right back to the start, keeping an open mind and being careful not to draw any conclusions. The last thing we expected to find was a suspect responsible for these deaths and non-fatal collapses. It was a long, drawn-out process but no stone was left unturned. We had to do it right – not rush it.”
We recognise the trial itself has also been exceptionally long – unlike most trials with maybe one victim, we’ve presented 17 separate investigations. Each one of those investigations concerning a tiny, vulnerable new-born baby.
Throughout the investigation the team worked to build a strong case for court. Endless files of evidence, thousands of pages of medical records, countless interviews and almost 250 people identified as witnesses by the prosecution to possibly give evidence – a mammoth task. (3 – notes recovered into evidence)
We also involved expert medical support where it was required, all with the aim of conducting as thorough an investigation as possible. Detective Superintendent Simon Blackwell, Strategic Lead for this investigation, said; “As the case unfolded, we had to enlist the help of multiple medical experts to ensure that we carried out as thorough an investigation as possible. There was a lot of complicated, medical evidence that needed examining. We are experienced detectives, not medical professionals, so we needed specialist advice and support... All of the medical experts were key to our case and we will forever be grateful for their assistance and the time and effort that they have given to supporting the investigation.”
Our case has also been strongly supported by a number of key partners over the years to which we are also very grateful including the Crown Prosecution Service, Prosecution Counsel, The National Crime Agency and colleagues from other forces.
This level of detail continued into the trial. Each case – again, a tiny vulnerable baby – opened with statements from parents followed by a walkthrough (prepared by our intelligence analysts) of what happened and when, who was around and what treatment was received. (4 – map of the Countess of Chester Hospital’s Neonatal Unit as it was, shown to the jury)
The jury was shown images and videos of the ward, medical equipment demonstrations, how procedures should be done and more – all to help provide context and the background to allow them to fully understand the case and the evidence presented. (5 – the start of a walkthrough of the ward, shown to the jury)
In July, after a 10-month trial, the jury began its deliberations. In total it took 110 hours to reach verdicts.
Lucy Letby was found guilty of seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder at Manchester Crown Court on Friday 18 August. She will be sentenced at the same court on Monday (21 August). (6 – Lucy Letby’s ‘mugshot’)
We’ll have more to say on sentencing, but to return to the start of this post; ‘Our focus is and always has been the babies and families involved and to see justice done’
We hope this has helped to give you an insight into our investigation and demonstrates the utmost level of care, empathy and dedication involved.
If you have been affected by anything discussed there is support available – please visit
https://www.cheshire.police.uk/poli...ut-us/operation-hummingbird/support-services/
) were found to have been suspicious. He immediately called out suspicions of air embolism. He said that the notes were incomplete, or filed out of order and that had to be sorted between him and the police - the NHS managers did not support his investigation at all. 
