The Trial

We now know for certain, babies should not have died at the Countess of Chester Hospital. In her scathing report into the failings which allowed Lucy Letby to harm babies for months, Lady Justice Thirlwall said three babies should not have died and seven more should not have been harmed. In her scathing report she condemned a fundamental lack of understanding of basic safeguarding regulations, a “tribal” approach from nurses, and an “exercise in spin” from senior leaders to delay police being called in to investigate. She also said the parents of the babies were treated reprehensibly. In this episode Caroline and Liz have her key findings and her urgent recommendations.

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Presenter: Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull
Editor: Chelsey Ranore
Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham
Assistant Producer: Harriet Muckle
Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.
The Trial series uses actors and some voices generated by AI. Their words are taken as verbatim from the official court transcript.

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It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

A Daily Mail production.
Seriously Popular.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could Lucy Letby have been stopped sooner? Could babies have been saved? Was there an orchestrated hospital cover up? Were parents consistently lied to? Did a toxic hospital culture allow a serial killer to remain undetected for months?

Today Lady Justice Thirlwall is likely to answer these questions and more when she publishes her long-awaited report into the failings at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
In this bonus episode Caroline and Liz dissect the key moments from the seven month inquiry as they prepare to read her findings.

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Follow us on TikTok @DailyMailCrime
Email us thetrial@dailymail.com
WhatsApp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)

Presenter: Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull
Editor: Chelsey Ranore
Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham
Assistant Producer: Harriet Muckle
Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.
The Trial series uses actors and some voices generated by AI. Their words are taken as verbatim from the official court transcript.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.
It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

A Daily Mail production.
Seriously Popular.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the podcast Caroline and Ryan have the extraordinary allegations against a Church of England Priest, who ran what's been called a "cult" service to abuse his female "disciples". Chris Brain admits having sexual relations with worshippers at the infamous Nine O'Clock Service in Sheffield in the 1980s and 1990s, but he's now accused of criminal offences. The allegation is the women he targeted were so vulnerable, isolated and frightened that they did not have the capacity to consent.

Also today, Caroline chats to Liz about the imminent report by Lady Justice Thirlwall into the crimes of Lucy Letby.

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Follow us on TikTok @DailyMailCrime
Email us thetrial@dailymail.com
WhatsApp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)

Presenter: Caroline Cheetham and Ryan Hooper
Editor: Chelsey Ranore
Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham
Assistant Producer: Harriet Muckle
Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.
The Trial series uses actors and some voices generated by AI. Their words are taken as verbatim from the official court transcript.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.
It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

A Daily Mail production.
Seriously Popular.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does the law need to change in order to better protect jurors?

That is what the House of Lords is now considering. Long-established laws means members of a jury are not allowed to discuss a case with anyone during a trial. And even after a trial is finished, what they can say about what they have seen and heard is limited. But it's now recognised that the evidence in many cases is traumatising and jurors need more help. But that would mean amending the law and that is what a new inquiry is looking into this week.

In this episode Caroline chats to Doctor Hannah Fawcett about her work on the wellbeing of jurors and what she wants to see the inquiry recommend.
The Trial series uses actors and some voices generated by AI. Their words are taken as verbatim from the official court transcript.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.
It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

A Daily Mail production.
Seriously Popular.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

60-year-old Christopher Phillips kept his mother’s body in a freezer for almost three years, talking to her about her favourite television programmes and holding her hand as if she were still alive. A court heard that he was suffering from a little-known mental health condition called Prolonged Grief Disorder. But he also kept collecting her pension money - and he's now been sent to prison.

In this episode, Liz speaks to Dr Michael Duffy, a psychotherapist and specialist in trauma therapy, about what happens when grief becomes prolonged and overwhelming. They discuss Christopher Phillips’s unusual case, how the condition differs from normal grief and depression, why it can be missed by doctors, and whether a better understanding of Prolonged Grief Disorder could have prevented his grief from spiralling into crime.

Subscribe via https://plus.thecrimedesk.com
Follow us on TikTok @DailyMailCrime
Email us thetrial@dailymail.com
WhatsApp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)

Presenter: Liz Hull
Guest: Dr Michael Duffy
Editor: Chelsey Ranore
Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham
Assistant Producer: Harriet Muckle
Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.
The Trial series uses actors and some voices generated by AI. Their words are taken as verbatim from the official court transcript.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.
It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

A Daily Mail production.
Seriously Popular.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.