A NURSE in Argentina has been sentenced to life in prison for ruthlessly murdering five newborns and trying to kill eight others.
The case bears chilling similarities to that of Brit baby murderer Lucy Letby, the nurse who is serving 15 whole-life sentences for killing seven babies and attempting to murder seven more.
AlamyNurse Brenda Aguero has been jailed for the murder of five babies in her care at the Maternal Neonatal Hospital[/caption]
AFPNurse Brenda Cecilia Aguero (C) reacts during her sentencing trial at a courtroom in Cordoba, Argentina[/caption]
Letby carried out the rampage while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital
Brenda Cecilia Aguero, 29, stole deadly doses of potassium and insulin before injecting them into newborn babies between March and June of 2022, prosecutors said.
Similarly, Letby was accused of injecting air and insulin into the babies, as well as overfeeding them milk – but has always maintained her innocence as MPs, doctors and top lawyers fight to get her convictions overturned.
Doubt has been cast over Letby’s convictions, with some suggesting she was targeted in a “witch hunt”.
In the chilling Argentine case, newborns tragically died initially under unexplained circumstances in a maternity hospital in Cordoba province, north-west of Buenos Aires.
Baby killer Aguero tried to murder eight other babies between March and June of 2022, but they managed to receive rapid, live-saving medical intervention, local media reports.
The 29-year-old will serve at least 35 years in prison before being eligible for parole, under Argentine law.
Aguero’s mum, Cristina Nobile, maintains her daughter’s innocence and told reporters she would continue to press to have her conviction overturned.
She added: “My daughter is innocent, and I will continue fighting.”
Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Aguero’s motivation behind the wicked killings was to further her career.
They say that she attacked the newborns in order to be the first to notice their symptoms and consequently impress her bosses.
But with five newborns dying within such a short space of time, the country’s Health Ministry launched a probe.
An alarming pattern was noticed, with babies having unexplained puncture marks in areas where injections weren’t typically administered.
Toxicology reports revealed that several of the babies had potassium or insulin levels that they couldn’t have produced naturally.
And prosecutors argued that Aguero was the only person present during all the harrowing incidents and has “exclusive proximity” to the mums and their babies.
Aguero denied the charges and told the court “they have no evidence”.
She also accused the media of portraying her as a “serial killer”.
Ten other defendants, including the former health minister in Cordoba as well as the former hospital director, were accused of attempting to cover up the incidents and destroy evidence.
Five were found guilty but received shorter sentences, and the five others were acquitted – including the former provincial officials, local media reported.
PALetby is serving 15 whole-life orders[/caption]
AFPNurse Brenda Cecilia Aguero reacts during her sentencing hearing at a courtroom in Cordoba, Argentina[/caption]
Killer nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of ruthlessly murdering seven babies in her care
The case bears chilling similarities to that of Brit Letby, now 34, who was last year given a whole life order in prison for the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven more at Countess of Chester Hospital.
During her ten-month trial, which ended last August when she received a whole life sentence, it was revealed she injected her victims with air or insulin, overfed them and physically abused them with medical tools.
An application to appeal against her sentence was rejected in February of this year.
She was convicted across two trials at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others.
The 35-year-old from Hereford is serving 15 whole-life orders.
She lost two attempts to challenged her convictions at the Court of Appeal last year.
Separately, Dutch nurse Lucia de Berk was found guilty of killing seven and attempting to kill three of her young patients in 2003 and 2004.
Just like Letby’s case, prosecutors claimed the smoking gun evidence came from a string of “sinister” diary entries — and hospital shift patterns which revealed she had been present at all of the deaths.
WikipediaDutch nurse Lucia de Berk was wrongly convicted of killing seven patients, including babies[/caption]
AFPDe Berk leaving court after her acquittal in 2010[/caption]
Cheshire ConstabularyA note found in the house of Lucy Letby, including comments “I DID THIS” and “I killed them”, which was shown at her trial at Manchester Crown Court[/caption]
De Berk spent five years behind bars at Scheveningen prison before the case went to the appeal court and was acquitted in 2010.
During police raids on Brit Letby’s home after her arrest, officers took a specific interest in her diary, as well as other notes found in her bedroom.
One such scrawling, which went on to form a key part of the case against her, said: “I am evil, I did this.”
It was emblazoned on a bright Post-It, alongside another saying: “I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough.”
Her diary, meanwhile, found in a bedside drawer, was thought to have contained a sadistic trail of breadcrumbs.
These included coloured asterisks, as well as initials and words added to days that occasionally coincided with the dates of deaths or attacks she was later found guilty of.
Timeline of horror – how Letby targeted babies
LUCY Letby carried out her horrific crimes over a 12-month period at Countess of Chester Hospital.
She used insulin and air to inject newborns while working on the neo-natal ward.
The collapses and deaths of the children were not “naturally-occurring tragedies” and instead the gruesome work of “poisoner” Letby.
Her rampage was finally uncovered after staff grew suspicious of the “significant rise” in the number of babies dying or suffering “catastrophic” collapses.
Letby was found to be the “common denominator” among the horrifying incidents.
Officers then searched her three-bedroom home in Chester and discovered a chilling cache of evidence.
The nurse had scribbled haunting notes in diaries and on Post-It notes, including one that read: “I am evil I did this.”
The note added: “I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them.
“I am a horrible person.”
A probe into whether Letby harmed any other babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital is ongoing.
A corporate manslaughter investigation is also ongoing, as is now a gross negligence manslaughter one.
Letby has always maintained her innocence, with MPs, doctors and top lawyers fighting to get her convictions overturned.
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