Britain's serial child-killer nurse began the rest of her life behind bars on Monday for murdering seven newborn babies (five boys and two girls) and attempting to kill six others in her care.
A judge in Manchester, northwest England, handed nurse Lucy Letby a rare whole-life order - the most severe punishment available and reserved only for those who commit the most heinous crimes - meaning she will never be released.
"The order of the court is a whole-life order on each and every offence and you will spend the rest of your life in prison," said judge James Goss.
She was arrested following a string of baby deaths at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between June 2015 and June 2016.
The prosecution said Letby attacked her vulnerable prematurely born victims, often during night shifts, by either injecting them with air, overfeeding them with milk or poisoning them with insulin.
Sentenced in absentia
Following a trial that started in October, a jury at Manchester Crown Court ended more than 100 hours of deliberations on Friday.
Letby was in the dock as the jury returned the first guilty decisions earlier in August.
But Letby, 33, sparked outrage from her young victims' families by refusing to attend the sentencing hearing, prompting pledges from politicians to close the loophole.
"You acted in a way that was completely contrary to the normal human instincts of nurturing and caring for babies," judge James Goss said, addressing Letby in her absence.
Goss said she had acted with "pre-meditation, calculation and cunning" with "malevolence bordering on sadism", "coldly" denying responsibility for her actions throughout the trial.
"You have no remorse," the judge said, ordering her to be given a written copy of the sentencing remarks and the families' victim impact statements.
'Early release impossible'
Goss said that "because the seriousness of your offences are exceptionally high, I direct that the early release provisions do not apply".
After Letby refused to attend the sentencing, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was "cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims".
"You thought it was your right to play God with our children's lives," the mother of a twin boy and girl who were attacked in June 2015 said in a statement read to the court.
The baby boy was murdered while his elder sister survived a murder attempt.
The father of two brothers killed by the nurse, who were part of a set of triplets, said: "Lucy Letby has destroyed our lives".
"The anger and the hatred I have towards her will never go away," he said in a pre-recorded video statement played to the court.
After the death of the two triplets in June 2016, Letby was removed from the neonatal unit and placed on clerical duties.
Two years later, in July 2018, she was arrested for the first time. On her third arrest in November 2020, Letby was formally charged and placed in custody.
Motive unclear
Letby's motives remain unclear. During the trial, the prosecution said Letby "gaslighted" her colleagues into believing the rise in baby deaths was "just a run of bad luck".
Letby kept medical notes as "morbid records" about what she had done, which were found during police searches of her home after she was arrested.
The court heard that Letby took an unusual interest in the families of her victims, making searches for them on social media.
She also sent a sympathy card to the grieving parents of a child she was later found guilty of murdering.
Handwritten notes found during police searches at Letby's home were among the evidence seen by the court, one of which had "I am evil I did this" written in capital letters.
The jury had also cleared Letby of two counts of attempted murder and were unable to reach decisions on six other counts.
Letby repeatedly denied harming the babies.
The UK government has announced an independent enquiry into the case and will look at how the concerns of clinicians were dealt with by hospital management.
The hospital's executives have come under fire for failing to act sooner on concerns about Letby, which were reportedly raised by senior doctors as early as 2015.
"Lifelong harm" had been caused to her victims' families by cutting short young lives "almost as soon as they began", the judge said.
"Loving parents have been robbed of their cherished children. You have caused deep psychological trauma," he added.
No motives have emerged for the killings, which took place between June 2015 and June 2016 and have made Letby one of Britain's most notorious serial killers.
Some 70 criminals are currently serving a whole-life order in the UK.
