One of the lines in the note by Letby found by police, which was shown to the court during her trial, said she had an"overwhelming fear... I'll never have children or marry... I will never know what it's like to have a family... despair".
Professor Yorker says that while killers in the medical profession are rare, her research suggests there may be more than those we know about. Dr Katherine Ramsland, an expert in serial killers who teaches forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, has seen both cases."It's a mix," she says."Some view healthcare agencies as places of trust where predators have advantages, others are worn down by the demands and decide to 'reduce' the workload or set someone up to make them look bad."
Dr Carter Woodrow says that"once you've crossed that line" and"murdered for the first time, I think it gets easier. And you see she feels emboldened as time goes on and the cases kind of escalate, particularly towards the end". But Dr Das says Letby should not necessarily be classed as a psychopath."Psychopaths are impulsive, they lack empathy, they don't care about the rights of other people, they're very self-serving, self-centred. You could argue she's all of those things but crucially, a psychopath is really manipulative and deceitful.