Lucy Letby made a chilling admission just days before she was found guilty oftrying to murder yet another infant in her care.
The killer nurse, 34, was convicted yesterday of the attempted murder of an infant known as Baby K.
She was previously found guilty by another jury last August of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others, but faced a retrial on the charge relating to Baby K.
During the recent retrial, Letby wasfending off questions from Nick Johnson KC, prosecuting, about her 'fascination' with her tiny victims and the way she carried out repeated Facebooksearches on their parents once she had killed them.
At one point, she told him: 'I carry a lot of babies around in my head.'
Lucy Letbywas convicted yesterdof the attempted murder of an infant known as Baby K
The killer nurse was previously found guilty by another jury of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others. Letby is pictured enjoying a night out with a friend
Liverpool Women's Hospital, where Letby attended a six-month training course in 2015
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Letby was sentenced to 14 whole life terms in August, and is now set to receive an additional sentence for the attempted murder of Baby K.
With the criminal process against the 34-year-old former nurse now completed, at least for now, Cheshire Police are now reviewing her entire medical career.
This will consider her time both atthe Countess of Chester Hospital, where Letby began her nursing career in 2012, and Liverpool Women's Hospital,where she attended a six-month training course in 2015.
Once this initial phase has been completed, the Operation Hummingbird team will decide how many cases to examine in microscopic detail.
Some parents have already either come forward with suspicions themselves or else been contacted by detectives.
A number have already had specialist family liaison officers assigned to them.
These officers will now help guide them through the complexities of an investigative process that may take years to reach a point where Letby can potentially be brought to a third trial.
In the meantime, senior detectives are expected to approach the killer in prison to see if she is ready to confess to other crimes against newborn babies – most likely of attempted murder.
So far she has maintained her innocence of all the crimes attributed to her – including those she was convicted of in August.
Letby was caught 'virtually red-handed' trying to kill the child, known as Baby K, in February 2016
Body worn camera footage issued by Cheshire Constabulary during the arrest of Lucy Letby
However, the reality is that Letby – now recognised as Britain's most prolific serial baby killer – harmed infants so frequently and sometimes so randomly that even she may not know how many she attacked.
It is understood that the new investigation will be focussed mainly on Liverpool Women's Hospital.
But detectives are also likely to review the records of all babies born at the Countess of Chester Hospital where she is already known to have attacked babies in the year from June 2015 to June 2016.
Letby started work there in January 2012 after finishing her nursing degree at Chester University. Previously she had visited the neonatal unit on work experience.
Det Supt Paul Hughes, the senior investigating officer of Operation Hummingbird, said at the time of the killer's original trial: 'We are committed to a thorough investigation across the entire footprint of Lucy Letby while she was employed at the Countess of Chester Hospital and on placements at the Liverpool Women's Hospital.
'That investigation is ongoing, and in the cases identified so far the families have been contacted and are being supported.
'We will give an update on that particular part of the investigation when we can. The investigation needs to go on'.
He added: 'We're not looking at deaths at LWH. We're looking at an overall time. Obviously there are a lot of years to go through, a massive amount of medical records, so it would just be unfair to speculate on that at the moment. But we are looking at a greater period of time'.
Letby (pictured) began working at the Countess of Chester Hospital in January 2012 after finishing her nursing degree at Chester University
Letby, who worked at the Countess of Cheshire Hospital, giving evidence in court last month
The force has set up a reception team for parents wishing to express concerns about the early days of their newborn babies.
Det Chief Insp Nicola Evans, the deputy SIO, said 'They'll speak to an investigator on this inquiry, and hopefully that means they will receive some answers pretty quickly'.
During Letby's 10-month trial it emerged that she took home scores of confidential medical notes as 'souvenirs' of her reign of terror on the neonatal unit.
Prosecutors suggested she used them to trigger memories of attacks she had carried out.
The historic nature of the renewed investigation means that similar medical notes are unlikely to be found. It may also be that Letby only began to collect such souvenirs and reminders later in her criminal career.
Detectives are likely to want to speak to colleagues who worked alongside Letby as long ago as 2012.
Some may already have suspicions about her behaviour as a fledgling nurse, or even while she was studying for her medical degree at Chester University.
