Twisted killers including Lucy Letby among those jailed in Greater Manchester in historic week in the courts

It has been a historic week for Manchester’s courts as killer nurse Lucy Letby was ordered to spend the rest of her life in prison.

Scores of journalists, bereaved families and police filed into Manchester Crown Court to witness Letby, who murdered seven babies and attempted to kill six more, sent down. But she refused to attend.

Also locked up this week were Michael Hillier and Rachel Fulstow, who murdered dad-of-two Liam Smith in cold blood after a botched revenge assassination.

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Prison terms are handed out to the most serious offenders each week. And Manchester Evening News reporters are on the press bench each day to cover such cases.

Here are the criminals across the region locked up in our courts this week.

Nurse Lucy Letby will die behind bars after being found guilty of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others. The judge told the nurse she acted "in a way that was completely contrary to the normal human instincts of nurturing and caring for babies", as he handed down his sentence at Manchester Crown Court this afternoon.

The 33-year-old was working in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital when she attacked the infants, many of whom were born prematurely. The prosecution stated she was a ‘constant malevolent’ presence at all the deaths and collapses between June 2015 and June 2016.

She forced air into the bodies of the babies, on two occasions poisoning babies with insulin, and also physically attacked some of the babies.

Following a 10-month trial at Manchester Crown Court, she was convicted of seven offences of murder and six offences of attempted murder. Jurors found her not guilty of two