Childhood friend of Lucy Letby insists ‘bubbly’ baby killer is innocent
‘I will never believe she is guilty’ are the words of a childhood friend of Lucy Letby’s who is guilty of seven murders and six attempted murders.
Letby is the UK’s most prolific child serial killer but despite this, Dawn, a childhood friend, who has known Letby since primary school, has defended the ‘goofy’, ‘quiet’, what police call ‘beige’ friend that she’s always known.
She told BBC Panorama, which aired the programme last night and was filmed during the trial itself, that she is just one of many friends who is still supporting Lucy.
The BBC’s Judith Moritz asked Dawn whether Lucy had pulled the wool over her eyes and fooled everybody.
Dawn let out a long sigh and said: ‘The only way I’d ever believe that she’s guilty is if she tells me she’s guilty.’
Letby led a rather normal, somewhat unremarkable life, growing up in Hereford, Hertfordshire, on the England-Wales border.
Dawn revealed for her and Lucy, Hereford was always home and recalled happy memories of the pair hanging out on the cathedral green and going to their favourite restaurants.
She said her serial killer friend was often ‘shy’ and ‘goofy’ around large groups of people.
But around her close set of friends, Letby would ‘let her hair down’ and become ‘bubbly’.
Dawn said Lucy had always wanted to be a nurse: ‘It was always her aspiration – her dream – to become a nurse and to help babies.
‘She told me she’d had quite a difficult birth herself and was quite poorly, and I think that’s affected a lot of her life.
‘She feels that’s what she was called to do – to help children who might have been born in similar circumstances.’
Dawn continued: ‘We know she couldn’t have done anything that she’s accused of, so without a doubt we stand by her.
‘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 things 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.’
She also accused police of ‘trying to build a case, to find someone culpable to find someone to blame’ as she maintained Letby’s innocence.
Letby has also been resolutely supported by both her parents – Susan and John Letby – throughout the long and arduous 10-month trial.
When Letby was first arrested on July 3 2018, Susan Letby screamed: ‘I did it, take me instead.’
As the guilty verdicts started drawing in, and the fate of Letby became ever more clear, Susan leant on her husband’s shoulder and whispered: ‘You can’t be serious. This can’t be right.’
Letby refused to hear the final verdicts read out on Friday and her legal representatives have confirmed she will not be present in court for sentencing.
The parents of twin boys, Baby E and Baby F, told the programme Letby is a ‘hateful human being’ who ‘feeds off others’ pain.’
She murdered Baby E before attempting to kill his twin just 24 hours later. Luckily, Baby F survived but he now has lifelong, complex needs due to the attack Letby inflicted upon him.
Baby E was the fourth of seven killed by Letby from June 2015 to June 2016 – she attempted to murder six other babies.
The mum said Letby was ‘faffing about’ and said in a calm voice: ‘Don’t worry, the registrar is coming,’ when the baby was screaming and blood was around his mouth.
Doctors initially said Baby E died of a bowel condition exacerbated by his premature birth – and his death was not believed to be suspicious so no post-mortem took place.
But medical experts during the trial confirmed something different and said he died of internal bleeding and air being injected into his bloodstream.
Baby E’s mum attended court each day and described the environment as ‘such a highly emotional and charged place to be in and sit in.’
Talking about Letby, she added: ‘I think she’s feeding off it, I think she’s feeding off other people’s pain.’
Since the verdicts, concerns have also been raised about top management’s response at the hospital to doctors concerns over Letby as early as the summer of 2015.
The trial was told that ‘an association’ with Letby being on shift when babies collapsed or died was first made as early as June 2015.
Concerns were raised again four months later, in October, and then raised again with medical director Ian Harvey, in February 2016.
Doctors told how fellow consultants were ‘fobbed off’ by management who felt like a ‘cover up’ was taking place.
The neonatal unit’s lead paediatrician, Stephen Brearey, rang Karen Rees, the duty executive in urgent care, to say he didn’t want Letby to come into work the following day, but she turned him down.
A group of clinicians continued to try and speak with bosses about their concerns, before they were even made to apologise to Letby.
But through their persistence police were finally called about the string of deaths.
The trust chief executive at the time was Tony Chambers and the medical director was Ian Harvey.
The hospital’s only comment so far has been from medical director Dr Nigel Scawn who said: ‘I speak for the whole trust when I say how deeply saddened and appalled we are at Lucy Letby’s crimes.
‘We are extremely sorry that these crimes were committed at our hospital and our thoughts continue to be with all the families and loved ones of the babies who came to harm or died. We cannot begin to understand what they have been through.
‘This case has had a profound impact on our patients and our local community and also our staff, who come to work every day determined to provide safe and high quality care for all of our patients.
‘Our staff are devastated by what has happened and we are committed to ensuring that lessons continue to be learned.
‘We are grateful for the co-operation of our staff, especially those that have maintained the utmost professionalism while giving evidence in this trial.’
Letby will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Monday and she is expected to spend the rest of her life behind bars.
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