The 10-month trial of English nurse Lucy Letby has come to an end. Letby was convicted of killing seven infants, and attempting to kill six others in the care of the Countess of Chester Hospital over a one-year period starting mid-2015. The verdicts were announced just three days after the end of the trial here of Lauren Dickason, who was convicted of murdering her three young children.
In the aftermath of the Letby case, we've heard lots of examples of what I think of as two post-mass-murder tropes. People who knew Letby spoke of how mundane she seemed, how some of them couldn't believe that this slightly awkward woman could have done the horrific things she was accused of. "You'd never suspect that she could do something like this."
The other trope, best embodied by Australian Martin Bryant who murdered 35 people in Port Arthur in 1996, is of an outsider. "It was only a matter of time..." Sometimes we hear both stories at the same time. They sank into the background, you'd hardly notice them, but there was always something a little bit "off" about them.
Esta historia es de la edición September 16 - 22 2023 de New Zealand Listener.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 16 - 22 2023 de New Zealand Listener.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Spilt milk
Excess dietary calcium goes into toilets, not bones.
To the Max
The testosterone and torments of late adolescence are centre stage in this novel about finding your place in life.
A chemical killer
A new book outlines the life of a woman who may well have been New Zealand’s most prolific poisoner. What was it that led police to exhume the body of her husband from its watery grave?
Creating the WOW factor
Meg Williams, in charge of the biggest festival involving a bunch of people wearing wacky outfits, admits she's not very flamboyant in her own dressing.
Leaving it all on the park
After cancer treatment, Graeme Downes takes stock of a musical life leading The Verlaines and lecturing future generations of songwriters.
Wrong message
A UK journalist who came here to talk about Rwanda’s authoritarian regime found herself the victim of a social media hate campaign.
Busting a gut
IBD is escalating, seemingly thanks to the Western lifestyle, and New Zealand has one of the highest rates in the world.
The point of Peters
There's been much to admire about the NZ First leader's politics over the years, but where has it got him?
Don't call us ...
Finland's ingenuity galvanised the rapid global uptake of cellphones, so it's paradoxical the country's latest claim to fame should be the elevation of no-speakies to a new commercial opportunity.
He is here
In the week my brother died, there was a storm in the universe.