Lucy Letby: How pole dancing nurse turned into UK’s most evil baby killer as deluded pal says ‘I’ll never believe it’
LUCY Letby turned from a “goofy” pole-dancing nurse into the UK’s most evil baby killer – but a deluded pal has said “I’ll never believe it”.
The sick and twisted 33-year-old was yesterday found guilty of murdering seven babies.
During Letby’s year-long reign of terror at Countess of Chester Hospital, she also attempted to kill six other newborns.
Described as “goofy” and “fun-loving” by friends, the monster nurse was pictured partying throughout her killing spree as she hid her dark truth.
Snaps of her downing drinks, pole dancing and donning fancy dress with a beaming smile distracted those closest to her from her twisted mind.
She even took a trip to the Spanish party island of Ibiza during the killing.
On the day she returned to work following the holiday with her pals, she murdered one triplet by injecting him with a lethal dose of air – inflicting trauma to his liver
She got back into her routine of committing heinous crimes instantly and even messaged a colleague saying she would “probably be back in [work] with a bang lol”.
Letby was even captured smiling on a hen do just hours before murdering her first baby victim.
Now Britain’s most prolific child killer, the government have announced an independent inquiry, which will see cops look into at least 4,000 babies Letby cared for.
Despite her conviction following a nine month trial and 22 days of jury deliberation, one of Letby’s school pals refuses to accept she’s done anything wrong.
The deluded woman, named Dawn, told BBC‘s Panorama: “I will never believe she’s guilty”.
In the interview, Dawn said the group of school friends from Aylestone Secondary School, in Hereford, are supporting the nurse.
She said: “We know she couldn’t have done anything that she’s accused of
“Unless Lucy turned around and said ‘I’m guilty’, I will never believe that she’s guilty.
“I grew up with Lucy and not a single thing that I’ve ever seen or witnessed of Lucy would let me for a moment believe she is capable of the thing’s she’s accused of.
“It is the most out of character accusation that you could ever put against Lucy.
“Think of your most kind gentle soft friend and think that they’re being accused of harming babies.”
It comes after police found damning evidence at Letby’s £180,000 semi-detached Chester home when they were called to investigate back in 2017.
The nurse had scribbled haunting notes in diaries and on Post-It notes, including one that read: “I am evil I did this”.
The note added: “I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them.
“I am a horrible person.
“I hate myself. There are no words. I am an awful person. I pay every day for that.”
Others read: “I panic I’ll never have children. I don’t deserve mum and dad. The world is better off without me. I did this, why me.”
A note found in a black bin bag in her garage read: “No one will ever know what happened and why . . . I’m a failure.”
Letby had also written: “I am a problem to those who do know me . . . it would be much better for everyone if I just went away. I just want to be happy.”
There were also some that bore the messages “Kill me” and “Help me” along with the names of some the babies she murdered.
In one, Letby scrawled: “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live like this.
“No one will ever understand or appreciate what’s like.”
Chilling footage has now been released of the moment the murderer was arrested at her home back in July 2018.
An officer can be seen knocking on her front door before Letby, wearing a blue jumper, answers the door looking stunned.
The court heard how Letby had a fixation with a male colleague which led her on the sinister path of “attention-seeking”.
One note found in her belongings said: “I loved you. I wanted you to stand by me but you didn’t.”
It was this married doctor who became her “best friend” while she was murdering babies that caused the only sign of emotion in the calculating nurse.
The medic broke down in court as her “sweetie” gave evidence against her and attempted to leave the dock.
In texts exchanged between the pair, he told her she was “one of a few nurses I would trust with my own children”.
The monster’s sickening death toll makes her the UK’s most prolific killer nurse and one of Britain’s worst-ever female serial killers.
The families of some of her victims comforted each other in court as the verdict was read out.
I am evil I did this
Letby
Letby had denied 22 offences in total and was accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill ten others.
She had wept as the first set of verdicts was delivered, but refused to enter court as the case was brought to a close on Friday.
Her mum Susan also wailed “this can’t be right” as it was revealed her daughter had been found guilty of killing babies.
Jurors failed to reach verdicts on six remaining counts of attempted murder against four babies – causing some families to storm out.
She was cleared of two counts of attempted murder against two babies.
The prosecutor has now asked for 28 days to consider if there will be a retrial.
Speaking after the case, the families of Letby’s victims said her conviction does not take away the “extreme hurt, anger and distress” they have suffered.
They added: “Words cannot effectively explain how we are feeling at this moment in time. We are quite simply stunned.
“To lose a baby is a heartbreaking experience that no parent should ever have to go through, but to lose a baby or to have a baby harmed in these particular circumstances is unimaginable. Over the past seven to eight years we have had to go through a long, torturous and emotional journey.
“From losing our precious newborns and grieving their loss, seeing our children who survived, some of whom are still suffering today, to being told years later that their death or collapse might be suspicious, nothing can prepare you for that news.”
The charges Letby was convicted on 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 G, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby targeted the baby girl by overfeeding her with milk and pushing air down her feeding tube. COUNT 7 GUILTY, COUNT 8 GUILTY, COUNT 9 NOT GUILTY.
Child H, two allegations of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby sabotaged the care of the baby girl in some way which led to two profound oxygen desaturations. COUNT 10 NOT GUILTY, COUNT 11 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
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 J, allegation of attempted murder. No specific form of harm was identified by the prosecution but they said Letby did something to cause the collapse of the baby girl. COUNT 13 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
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.
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.
The monster used insulin and air to inject newborns while working on the neo-natal ward.
The monster used insulin and air to inject newborns while working on the neo-natal ward.
The collapses and deaths of the children were not “naturally-occurring tragedies” and instead the gruesome work of “poisoner” Letby.
During a mammoth trial, jurors were told some of the newborns were repeatedly targeted by the nurse – including one baby Letby is alleged to have killed after three previous failed attempts.
Her reign of terror was finally uncovered after staff grew suspicious of the “significant rise” in the number of babies dying or .
Letby was found to be the “common denominator” among the deaths and collapses.
Between 2015 and 2016, two babies on the neo-natal unit were “deliberately” poisoned with insulin, which was “no accident”.
Some of the other babies were killed or harmed when air or milk was injected into their bloodstream or via a tube in their stomachs.
In some cases, Letby allegedly took up to three attempts before she managed to kill some of her victims.
One mum told the jury: “I could hear my son crying, and it was like nothing I’d heard before.
“It was more a scream than a cry – a sound that shouldn’t come from a tiny baby. It was horrendous.”
The nurse, who had special training in caring for ICU babies, showed an “unusual interest” in searching for her victims’ families on social media.
She also sent a sympathy card to a mum of a baby she allegedly murdered on the fourth attempt as she attempted to craft twisted relationships with her victims’ parents.
She also photographed a thank you card from the parents of two of her alleged victims as “something to remember”.
She said it was a “normal pattern of behaviour” for her to look for the parents of babies she had treated more than once on Facebook.
Away from the “cover of trust” she hid beneath was a cold-hearted killer who showed “no emotion” towards the tragic babies.
A court order prohibits identifying the surviving and deceased children and prohibits identifying parents or witnesses connected with the babies.
Letby will be sentenced on Monday.
