Prosecutors used densely written Post-its to build case against nurse, but she was told to write down her feelings to cope with extreme stress, sources say
, used to help convict her of murdering seven babies, were written on the advice of professionals as a way of dealing with extreme stress, the Guardian has learned.
also referenced her family and pets, colleagues at work, and described repeated suicidal thoughts: “Kill myself right now”, “help”, “despair panic fear lost”, “I feel very alone and scared”. David Wilson, a professor of criminology at Birmingham City University, who specialises in serial killers, said in his view the so-called confession notes were “meaningless” and had no value as evidence, particularly if they had been written as part of counselling. “Many people will say things when they are under stress and feeling bereft, that seem to imply one thing but mean nothing at all, other than reflecting the underlying stress.
set the narrative for the whole proceedings. He believed they could have been very influential on the jury, especially when other evidence was technical and hard to understand, he said. Such moments “catch the jury’s attention and once you’ve caught it, it is really hard in our adversarial legal system to present alternatives successfully”, he added.
Nursing sources have said Letby was aware that senior consultants were talking openly about there being a serial killer on the unit and that gossip was pointing at her as someone who was on shift for many of the deaths. “It’s useful to put words on paper to short-circuit overthinking when there’s a whirlpool of really confusing and disturbing thoughts going round and round in your head,” he said. “Once they are externalised you can maybe put them to one side and carry on with what needs your attention.”De Beger gave Letby counselling over several sessions as part of support arranged by the hospital. Letby’s notes refer repeatedly to De Beger and to Bergerac, which appears to derive from the sound of her name.
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