Nurse accused of murdering eight babies appears in court ahead of trial

Lucy Letby, 32, is accused of multiple counts of murder

Letby spoke only to confirm her identity (PA)

A nurse accused of murdering eight babies has made a further appearance in court ahead of her trial.

Lucy Letby 32, denies the murders and also denies 10 counts of attempted murder of babies during an alleged year-long killing spree while working on the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester.

Letby spoke only to confirm her identity during the 50-minute hearing, appearing via video link from a room at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey.

A videolink to Chester Crown Court showed what appeared to be around a dozen family members of the victims listening to the hearing with the judge Mr Justice Goss appearing via video link sitting at Nottingham Crown Court.

Letby, of Arran Avenue, Hereford, is accused of the murder of five baby boys and three baby girls and the attempted murder of five baby boys and five baby girls, all between June 2015 and June 2016.

A court order prohibits reporting of the identities of surviving and deceased children allegedly attacked by Letby, and prohibits identifying the parents or witnesses connected with the children.

Monday’s hearing dealt with arrangements ahead of Letby’s trial at Manchester Crown Court, which is due to start on October 4 and scheduled to last six months.

Two further pre-trial hearings were set for April and June or July later this year.

Mr Justice Goss remanded Letby into custody until the next hearing.