LUCY Letby could be placed under 24-hour suicide watch while in prison after she was found guilty of killing seven babies.
It’s feared Letby, 33, who is now Britain’s most prolific child killer, could take her own life before “justice gets done”.
Her heinous crimes were unmasked during a nearly 10-month trial where it was revealed she also attempted to kill six other newborns.
She used insulin and air to inject newborns in a year-long killing spree while working on the neo-natal ward at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
She will be sentenced on Monday – and is expected to be slapped with a whole-life tariff.
The nurse will be the fourth female defendant in British history to have no hope of parole.
It’s believed she could serve her sentence at HMP Low Newton, a maximum security women’s prison in County Durham – or HMP Bronzefield, the largest female prison in Europe.
Letby previously told how she thought about taking her own life after being blamed for the deaths.
She told Manchester Crown Court: “There were times when I did not want to live. I thought of killing myself.”
Now it’s thought she will be put under suicide watch when she is locked up.
Ian Carson of the Prison Officers Association told the Mirror: “It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s under constant watch with eyes on her 24/7.
“It would be very embarrassing if she kills herself before justice gets done. Prison officials may decide instead to check in on her every 10 minutes if she’s not deemed such a risk.’
Mr Carson added: “They’ll have more staff supervision not only to make sure she doesn’t commit suicide but also to make sure she doesn’t escape.”
Letby is refusing to attend court for sentencing on Monday.
If handed a full life tariff she will join the ranks of Rose West, serial killer Joanna Dennehy and the late Moors murderer Myra Hindley.
Her mum Susan wailed “this can’t be right” as it was revealed her daughter had been found guilty of killing babies.
Jurors failed to reach verdicts on six remaining counts of attempted murder against four babies – causing some families to storm out.
The prosecutor has now asked for 28 days to consider if there will be a retrial.
An independent inquiry has now been ordered by the government that will examine how concerns raised by doctors were dealt with and the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
LUCY Letby's horrific murder spree has gained her the grisly moniker of one of Britain's most prolific female serial killers.
Here’s how her death toll of seven babies ranks among other sadistic women who kill.
Rose West
Along with husband Fred West, Rose abducted, tortured and raped her victims before burying them at their house of horrors in Gloucester.
She was convicted of ten murders, including stepdaughter Charmaine, eight, and daughter Heather, 16.
Myra Hindley
Branded the “most evil woman in Britain”, Hindley teamed up with monster Ian Brady to kill five children in the 1960s.
The twisted couple buried their victims on Saddleworth Moor but never revealed the location of 12-year-old Keith Bennett.
Hindley died in jail in 2002 after spending 36 years behind bars.
Beverley Allitt
Like fellow nurse Letby, Allitt embarked on a gruesome, 59-day killing spree.
The nurse murdered four children and grievously injured many others while at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital.
She was handed 13 life sentences in 1993 and is now languishing at Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire.
Joanna Dennehy
Known as the Peterborough Ditch Murders, the monster killed three men over a ten-day period before dumping their bodies.
While on the run from police, Dennehy taunted police by attempting to kill two others.
She smirked as she was one of two women, the other being Rose West, to ever be handed a whole life tariff – meaning she will die behind bars.
Speaking after the case the families of Letby’s victims said her conviction does not take away the “extreme hurt, anger and distress” they have suffered.
In a joint statement, they added: “Today justice has been served and the nurse who should have been caring for our babies has been found guilty of harming them.
“Some families did not receive the verdict that they expected and therefore it is a bittersweet result.
“We are heartbroken, devastated, angry and feel numb.
“We may never truly know why this happened.”
