January 31: Neonatal nurse Lucy Letby: UK: Dr. Dewi Evans: (Is his 'star' dimming?) The Sun (Investigative Editor Rob Pattinson) reports that Dr. Dewi, the star witness whose evidence helped convict Lucy Letby, has been silenced by police who have told him to stop publicly discussing the case, noting that: "The extraordinary rift comes despite Cheshire Police granting Netflix exclusive access to the case ahead of a documentary next week. A source said: “It’s clear police are not happy with Evans trying to justify his findings in public. But at the same time, they are seeking to publicise themselves. “Dr Evans clearly believes he has nothing to hide — but the difference in opinion is making it difficult for him to get on with the police.”

BACKGROUND: (From a previous post of this Blog - August 17, 2025 - (Link Below):  Neonatal Nurse Lucy Letby: UK: A prosecution resting on nothing but a prosecution medical expert's theory? Lead prosecution medical expert Dewi Evans: "Lucy Letby was a ‘broken person’. But now has new hope, claims her lawyer," The Independent (Reporter Pol Allingham) reports, noting that: "In the latest interview, Mr McDonald told the Sunday Times: “I’m not naive; I’m a criminal defence barrister – I’ve represented many people over the years who are guilty. “But I’m also able to see very clearly where this has gone wrong. There’s no forensic evidence. There’s no CCTV. There’s no eyewitness evidence. “There’s just a theory by a man called Dewi Evans,” he said, referring to the person who was the lead prosecution medical expert in her trial."

https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2025/08/neonatal-nurse-lucy-letby-uk.html

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: January 31, 2026: "Letby, 36, is serving 15 whole-life sentences for ­murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven ­others at Countess of Chester Hospital. Dr Evans told The Sun he was unable to comment on a CPS decision this month not to bring any ­further charges against her. But he admitted the source of debate over Letby’s guilt comes because the medical evidence was not contested enough during her trial. Dr Evans fumed: “Why didn’t the defence call a pathologist’s opinion?"

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STORY: "Letby Cop Clash:  Fresh twist in Lucy Letby case as cop's' silence'  star witness whose evidence helped convict her."

GIST: The star witness whose evidence helped convict Lucy Letby has been silenced by cops who have told him to stop publicly discussing the case, it was claimed.

Dr Dewi Evans’s testimony was the cornerstone of the prosecution case that all victims died from intentional harm.

The star witness whose evidence helped convict Lucy Letby has been silenced by cops who have told him to stop publicly discussing the case.

Dr Dewi Evans’s testimony was the cornerstone of the prosecution case

But since debate over nurse Letby’s guilt has intensified, officers have privately begged Dr Evans to shut up instead of openly backing his claims.

The extraordinary rift comes despite Cheshire Police granting Netflix exclusive access to the case ahead of a documentary next week.

A source said: “It’s clear police are not happy with Evans trying to justify his findings in public. But at the same time, they are seeking to publicise themselves.

“Dr Evans clearly believes he has nothing to hide — but the difference in opinion is making it difficult for him to get on with the police.”

LETBY BOMBSHELL Lucy Letby is 'victim of greatest miscarriage of justice in decades'

Letby, 36, is serving 15 whole-life sentences for ­murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven ­others at Countess of Chester Hospital.

Dr Evans told The Sun he was unable to comment on a CPS decision this month not to bring any ­further charges against her.

But he admitted the source of debate over Letby’s guilt comes because the medical evidence was not contested enough during her trial.

Dr Evans fumed: “Why didn’t the defence call a pathologist’s opinion?

Since debate over nurse Letby’s guilt has intensified, officers have privately begged Dr Evans to shut up instead of openly backing his claims

“That’s not up to me. I’m getting all the grief because I gave evidence in court.”

He also rejected the findings of former Det Supt Stuart Clifton, who claimed in yesterday’s Sun the conviction is “the greatest miscarriage of justice this century”.

Dr Evans said: “If he’s ­relying on hype from Letby’s experts, then he is looking at the wrong evidence.”

And Dr Evans claimed he is better placed to interpret evidence than Dr Shoo Lee, head of a panel which rejects that murders took place.

He said: “Forget the world leading experts. They were all recruited by this guy, Shoo Lee, who sent an email, which I’ve seen, saying, ‘You are the last hope’. In other words, they were in a corner before they took up the case.

“Shoo’s statements are the most flawed I have seen.”

Dr Evans’s findings were backed in court by a second prosecution witness, with aspects supported by a third.

But Stuart’s report makes clear medicine is an “art of opinion” and debate has swirled around the medical findings that convicted Letby

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The charges Letby has been convicted of in full

Child A, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby injected air intravenously into the bloodstream of the baby boy. COUNT 1 GUILTY.

Child B, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby attempted to murder the baby girl, the twin sister of Child A, by injecting air into her bloodstream. COUNT 2 GUILTY.

Child C, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said Letby forced air down a feeding tube and into the stomach of the baby boy. COUNT 3 GUILTY.

Child D, allegation of murder. The Crown said air was injected intravenously into the baby girl. COUNT 4 GUILTY.

Child E, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby murdered the twin baby boy with an injection of air into the bloodstream and also deliberately caused bleeding to the infant. COUNT 5 GUILTY.

Child F, allegation of attempted murder. Letby was said by prosecutors to have poisoned the twin brother of Child E with insulin. COUNT 6 GUILTY.

Child I, allegation of murder. The prosecution said Letby killed the baby girl at the fourth attempt and had given her air and overfed her with milk. COUNT 12 GUILTY.

Child K, allegation of attempted murder. The prosecution said Letby compromised the baby girl as she deliberately dislodged a breathing tube. COUNT 14 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT AT ORIGINAL TRIAL, NOW GUILTY AFTER RETRIAL

Child L, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said the nurse poisoned the twin baby boy with insulin. COUNT 15 GUILTY.

Child M, allegation of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby injected air into the bloodstream of Child L’s twin brother. COUNT 16 GUILTY.

Child N, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby inflicted trauma in the baby boy’s throat and also injected him with air in the bloodstream. COUNT 17 GUILTY, COUNT 18 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT, COUNT 19 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.

Child O, allegation of murder. Prosecutors say Letby attacked the triplet boy by injecting him with air, overfeeding him with milk and inflicting trauma to his liver with “severe force”. COUNT 20 GUILTY.

Child P, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said the nurse targeted the triplet brother of Child O by overfeeding him with milk, injecting air and dislodging his breathing tube. COUNT 21 GUILTY.

Child Q, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby injected the baby boy with liquid, and possibly air, down his feeding tube. COUNT 22 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT

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The entire story can be read at;

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/38061934/lucy-letby-cops-silence-star-witness/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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January 31: Criminalizing Reproduction: Policing Pregnancy: Attacks on Science, Medicine and the Right to Choose: Jessica Valenti and Kylie Cheug explain how your at-home DNA test could send women to jail, in Abortion, Every Day, noting that: "The Kentucky State Police—who seem to be especially excited about making pregnancy-related arrests these days—claim that ‘Baby Jane Doe’ was born alive and healthy, and was abandoned in a dumpster. Here’s the really chilling part: police say they found the Virginia woman thanks to “new technologies” and “advancements in forensic science.” Translation? They identified her using an AncestryDNA test—the kind people take to learn about their heritage, or find distant cousins."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  In recent years, I have taken on the  theme of 'criminalizing reproduction' - a natural theme for a Blog concerned with  flawed science in its myriad forms  - as I am utterly appalled by  the current movement in the United States (and some other countries) emboldened by the overturning of Roe V Wade,  towards imprisoning and conducting surveillance on women and their physicians and others who help them secure a safe abortion,  on the basis of sham science (or any other basis). I can’t remember the source, but agree  totally with the sentiment that control over their reproductive lives is far too important to women in America - or anywhere else -  so they can  participate  equally in the economic and social life of their nations without fear for  loss their freedom at the hands of political opportunists and fanatics. (Far too many of those those around these days.) '

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "This isn’t the first time cops have used these tests to target women over pregnancies that happened decades ago: In December 2024, a Florida woman’s DNA test led to her grandmother being charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, and concealing the death of an individual—for the death of an ‘infant’ 20 years earlier. And an Ohio mother and grandmother was arrested in 2019 after cops used DNA testing to tie her to “a baby that was left” in the woods 26 years before."

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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Often enough, these cases center on women who experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or other pregnancy-related medical emergencies—and in the midst of extreme trauma, didn’t know how to move forward. As Pregnancy Justice’s Karen Thompson tells us: “We approach the police narrative of women killing their newborns with a high level of skepticism because we’ve seen the harm it can do, and we have seen how often police get it wrong. We’ve represented women and tracked dozens of cases across the country where they were prosecuted—often as grandmothers and often decades after suffering a devastating stillbirth—because DNA tests linked them to fetal remains and junk forensic science was then used to claim ‘proof’ that a baby was born alive.”

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PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "Thompson continued, “The reality is that pregnancies sometimes have tragic endings, and if that is the case here, criminalization is the wrong response.” Whatever information does or doesn’t come to light about this latest case, we simply can’t overstate the cruelty of arresting someone over a tragedy 35 years later—and the importance of not rushing to judgments based on the word of police.  As advancements continue to be made in forensic technology and DNA testing, it’s beyond disturbing to watch them co-opted by the state to surveil and criminalize women. And it’s safe to say that most people taking an AncestryDNA or 23andMe test probably don’t realize they could be helping to arrest their grandmas or distant relatives."

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COMMENTARY: "How Your At-Home DNA Test Could Send Women to Jail," by Kylie Cheug and Jessica Valenti, published by Abortion, Every Day, on January 9, 2026. (

SUB-HEADING: "Virginia Woman Arrested Over Her 1991 Pregnancy." 

GIST: "A 55-year-old woman in Fairfax, Virginia, was arrested on Wednesday in connection to the death of an ‘infant’ found in a dumpster in Kentucky… in 1991. That’s right, thirty-five years ago.

As is often the case with arrests like these, the only information we have comes from law enforcement—and we all know better than to take their word for anything. (Especially in cases involving women accused of ‘abandoning’ their ‘infants.’)

The Kentucky State Police—who seem to be especially excited about making pregnancy-related arrests these days—claim that ‘Baby Jane Doe’ was born alive and healthy, and was abandoned in a dumpster. 

Here’s the really chilling part: police say they found the Virginia woman thanks to “new technologies” and “advancements in forensic science.” Translation? They identified her using an AncestryDNA test—the kind people take to learn about their heritage, or find distant cousins.

This isn’t the first time cops have used these tests to target women over pregnancies that happened decades ago: In December 2024, a Florida woman’s DNA test led to her grandmother being charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, and concealing the death of an individual—for the death of an ‘infant’ 20 years earlier. And an Ohio mother and grandmother was arrested in 2019 after cops used DNA testing to tie her to “a baby that was left” in the woods 26 years before. 

Often enough, these cases center on women who experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or other pregnancy-related medical emergencies—and in the midst of extreme trauma, didn’t know how to move forward. As Pregnancy Justice’s Karen Thompson tells us:

“We approach the police narrative of women killing their newborns with a high level of skepticism because we’ve seen the harm it can do, and we have seen how often police get it wrong. We’ve represented women and tracked dozens of cases across the country where they were prosecuted—often as grandmothers and often decades after suffering a devastating stillbirth—because DNA tests linked them to fetal remains and junk forensic science was then used to claim ‘proof’ that a baby was born alive.”

 

Thompson continued, “The reality is that pregnancies sometimes have tragic endings, and if that is the case here, criminalization is the wrong response.”

Whatever information does or doesn’t come to light about this latest case, we simply can’t overstate the cruelty of arresting someone over a tragedy 35 years later—and the importance of not rushing to judgments based on the word of police. 

As advancements continue to be made in forensic technology and DNA testing, it’s beyond disturbing to watch them co-opted by the state to surveil and criminalize women. And it’s safe to say that most people taking an AncestryDNA or 23andMe test probably don’t realize they could be helping to arrest their grandmas or distant relatives."

The entire commentary can be read at:

 https://jessica.substack.com/p/how-your-at-home-dna-test-could-send

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

———————————————————————————————

FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

—————————————————————————————————

FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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