UNITED KINGDOM - On Tuesday, July 1st, British police said they arrested three senior hospital managers on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as part of its investigation into nurse Lucy Letby, who was convicted two years ago of killing babies in a neonatal unit.
Letby, 35, is serving a life prison sentence after being found guilty of murdering seven newborns and attempting to murder eight more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) in northern England, the New York Post reported.
Letby is the textbook definition of a modern day serial killer, yet maintains her innocence and has been refused permission to appeal her convictions.
She has been told by authorities that she will never be released. She is serving 15 whole life prison sentences, according to BBC.
Following her conviction, police began to investigate possible corporate manslaughter offenses at the hospital, an inquiry that was later widened to consider whether other individuals might be guilty of gross negligent manslaughter.
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, who is leading the investigation, said three unnamed members of the hospital's senior leadership team have been arrested.
They have since been released on bail, pending further inquiries. "Both the corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter elements of the investigation are continuing and there are no set time scales for these," Hughes said, adding that this did not impact Letby's convictions.
Hughes said that police were continuing their investigation into whether Letby had committed more crimes at the hospital and at another unit where she had previously worked.
Since she was sentenced, some lawmakers, medical experts, and other specialists have publicly challenged the prosecution evidence that was used to find her guilty.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission, which examines potential miscarriages of justice, is considering an application from Letby's legal team, and last month, former health minister Jeremy Hunt said the case should be urgently re-examined.
The application included the findings of 14 medical experts who agreed to re-examine the evidence heard at trial and concluded that Letby had not harmed any babies.
Letby's lawyer, Mark McDonald, said in a statement that the police announcement came at a sensitive time. "Despite this, the concerns many have raised will not go away, and we will continue to publicly discuss them," McDonald said.
Kate Blackwell, a lawyer for the hospital's senior managers, said that the managers strongly denied accusations that they "deliberately and knowingly" protected a murderer.
There is a public inquiry that reportedly examined how the murders were able to take place and that there are other explanations for the deaths that need to be considered.
Those findings are due to be published early next month after the chairman rejected calls for her work to be paused.
Police have previously said skepticism about the case was based on partial knowledge of the facts presented to the courts.
