Three members of security staff surrounded her as she stood up to enter her pleas as her parents John and Susan watched on. Her trial, which is due to begin this afternoon, will last up to six months.
Letby, 32, quietly repeated the words ‘Not guilty’ as each of the charges was read out to her by a clerk at Manchester Crown Court.
She was standing stock still in the glass-panelled dock of Court 7, her once blonde hair, now darkened, let down over her shoulders.
Fourteen jurors were sworn in to hear the trial. However, two of them will act as substitutes while the prosecution opening is being heard. Once that point has been reached the trial will continue with 12 jurors.
According to the indictment she tried to kill one baby girl three times and another twice. And she tried to claim the life of a baby boy on three separate occasions – two of them on the same day.
In addition to the seven murder charges, Letby faces a further 15 charges of attempted murder relating to 10 premature babies being cared for in the hospital’s neonatal unit.
All of the alleged murders and attempted murders took place in a 12-month period between June 2015 and June 2016.
A court order prohibits the media from reporting the identities of either the surviving infants or those who died.
A court order prohibits reporting of the identities of surviving and deceased children allegedly attacked by Letby, and prohibits identifying the parents or witnesses connected with the children.
The children will be referred to as Baby or Child A to Q.
