Lucy Letby to Appeal Conviction in High-Profile Child Murder Case

Former British nurse Lucy Letby, convicted of murdering seven newborns and attempting to murder seven more, will appeal her conviction next month. Letby, 34, was found guilty in 2016 for crimes committed at Countess of Chester Hospital. The appeal hearing is set for Oct. 24 in London.

Former British nurse Lucy Letby, convicted as a child serial killer, will attempt to appeal her conviction for trying to murder a newborn baby next month, according to court records. Letby, 34, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester, northern England, making her Britain's most prolific serial child killer of modern times.

She will have a hearing at London's Court of Appeal on Oct. 24, according to a list of upcoming appeal hearings. Next month's hearing will consider a single charge of attempted murder, for which Letby was convicted after a retrial earlier this year.

Letby's attempt to overturn her convictions from the first trial was refused by the Court of Appeal in May. Since her trials, Letby's conviction has increasingly come under a spotlight, following criticism by some experts of medical and statistical evidence presented by the prosecution.

Some media in Britain and abroad have questioned whether she might be the victim of a miscarriage of justice. Letby has reportedly hired a new legal team to again challenge the convictions. Lawyers representing some victims' families have said the speculation, much of it on social media, has been distressing.

The chair of a public inquiry into the deaths criticised the "noise" from those who had not attended Letby's trial for casting doubt about her guilt as the inquiry began this month.

(With inputs from agencies.)