Oct 10, 2026 · 1 hr 28 min · 30 segments
Between 2015 and 2016, a series of unexpected deaths and sudden collapses occurred on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Years later, former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was…
In the summer of 2015, something deeply troubling was happening inside a hospital in the northwest of England.
At the Countess of Chester Hospital, doctors and nurses were caring for some of their most vulnerable patients, newborn babies.
For their parents, the neonatal unit was a place of hope, but also of considerable uncertainty.
Every improvement mattered, every setback was frightening, and every unexpected collapse demanded an explanation.
But during 2015 and 2016, a series of deaths and sudden deteriorations began to cause growing concern among senior doctors.
It was whether something was happening on the unit that the medical staff had failed to recognize.
Their conditions can be complicated, and serious emergencies can arise with little warning.
But as the incidents continued, some consultants began to suspect that the explanation might lie beyond the baby's underlying medical conditions.
She was someone entrusted with the care of babies at an exceptionally vulnerable stage of their lives.
But the suspicion surrounding her would eventually lead to one of the largest and most disturbing criminal investigations in recent British history.
It would take years before a jury heard the evidence, and when the verdicts finally came, the consequences would be extraordinary.
In August 2023, Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others.
Under those sentences, she is not eligible for release through the ordinary parole process.
For the families involved, the convictions marked the end of an extraordinarily painful criminal trial, but the wider story was far from over.
In the years that followed, questions were raised about aspects of the medical evidence, the way the investigation had been conducted, and the reliability of some of the conclusions presented at trial.
In the summer of 2015, something deeply troubling was happening inside a hospital in the northwest of England.
At the Countess of Chester Hospital, doctors and nurses were caring for some of their most vulnerable patients, newborn babies.
For their parents, the neonatal unit was a place of hope, but also of considerable uncertainty.
Every improvement mattered, every setback was frightening, and every unexpected collapse demanded an explanation.
But during 2015 and 2016, a series of deaths and sudden deteriorations began to cause growing concern among senior doctors.
It was whether something was happening on the unit that the medical staff had failed to recognize.
Their conditions can be complicated, and serious emergencies can arise with little warning.
But as the incidents continued, some consultants began to suspect that the explanation might lie beyond the baby's underlying medical conditions.
She was someone entrusted with the care of babies at an exceptionally vulnerable stage of their lives.
But the suspicion surrounding her would eventually lead to one of the largest and most disturbing criminal investigations in recent British history.
It would take years before a jury heard the evidence, and when the verdicts finally came, the consequences would be extraordinary.
In August 2023, Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others.
Under those sentences, she is not eligible for release through the ordinary parole process.
For the families involved, the convictions marked the end of an extraordinarily painful criminal trial, but the wider story was far from over.
In the years that followed, questions were raised about aspects of the medical evidence, the way the investigation had been conducted, and the reliability of some of the conclusions presented at trial.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
