Child G — the Panel finds infection, not over-feeding
The prosecution’s claim: Letby was convicted on two counts of attempted murder of Child G, whom the Crown alleged she had over-fed with excessive milk via nasogastric tube, causing aspiration and collapse.
Prosecution claim
Letby was convicted on two counts of attempted murder of Child G, whom the Crown alleged she had over-fed with excessive milk via nasogastric tube, causing aspiration and collapse.
Counter-evidence
The Panel found no evidence that Child G had been injected with air or over-fed. Its conclusion is infection — possibly enterovirus. The radiology relied on at trial does not assist the Crown either: every X-ray showing gaseous distension was taken after Child G had been given bag-and-mask ventilation, which itself pushes air into the stomach. Child G was also born at approximately 23 weeks, at the absolute edge of viability, where severe deterioration and severe long-term disability are common consequences of the prematurity itself rather than of any act.
Key point: The Panel found no evidence of air injection and no evidence of over-feeding in Child G. Its finding is infection — possibly enterovirus — and every gaseous-distension X-ray relied on was taken after bag-and-mask ventilation.
What the jury heard
Feed volumes were described as excessive and deliberate. The long-term disability of Child G was presented as the consequence of those feeds.
What the Panel says
The Panel's finding for Child G is infection, possibly enterovirus. It found no evidence of air injection and no evidence of overfeeding, and it noted that the X-rays showing gaseous distension were all taken after bag-and-mask ventilation had been given.
What independent experts add
- Bag-and-mask ventilation inflates the stomach as well as the lungs; an X-ray taken afterwards will show gas the resuscitation put there.
- Neonatologists emphasise that at 23 weeks, survival is precarious and disability rates are high even with perfect care.
- Grade III-IV intraventricular haemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia are documented common sequelae of 23-week prematurity and are themselves documented causes of severe long-term disability — independent of any feeding mechanism.
- The UK National Neonatal Research Database survival statistics for 23-week infants document low survival and high severe-disability rates among survivors as the norm, not an anomaly requiring criminal explanation.