NEVER-before-seen letters sent from Lucy Letby to one of her pals have emerged – showing the nurse boasting about her cushy ensuite cell.
Letby remained in contact with “important and special” friend Maisie and vowed to “not give up” ahead of her conviction in August 2023.
Maisie and Letby became “inseparable” while studying nursing at the University of Chester together.
She describes meeting Letby on the first day of lectures, with the nurse’s smile “putting her at ease straightaway”.
In other bombshells from Netflix’s documentary…
- A doctor who helped convict Letby revealed his doubt
- A close pal of Letby reveals what she was like at university
- One of the baby’s mums reveals Letby’s chilling admission in court
- An expert accuses data used to convict Letby of being ‘misinterpreted
- Defence barrister claims Letby’s haunting notes were due to therapy and ‘not a confession’
- Letby was ‘scapegoated’ by the hospital she worked at, her lawyer claims
LETBY BOMBSHELL
‘Did we get the WRONG person?’ Doc who helped convict Letby reveals doubt
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In Netflix’s documentary The Investigation of Lucy Letby, Maisie hailed her friend’s “quirky sense of humour” during their university years.
The pair continued their “special” friendship and remained in contact while Letby was in prison until her trial and subsequent verdict.
In previously unseen letters, the convicted killer bemoaned her “heartbreaking” situation.
She told Maisie that having her unwavering friendship through everything was “so important and special to me”.
Letby also described conditions in her cushy cell and told how she was “missing” her pets back home.
She wrote: “I have my own room and toilet. I’m able to shower each day and go outside for a walk.
“I miss Tigger and Smudge so much. It’s heartbreaking that they cannot understand why I’m no longer there.
“They must think I’m a terrible mummy. Mum and dad are taking good care of them though and are no doubt spoiling them.
“I’m trying to do all that I can to remain strong and positive. I’m determined to get through this. I will not give up.”
Letby’s close pal is forced to stop and apologise as she fights back her tears reading the messages.
Lucy Letby – the timeline
June 2015 – June 2016 – Letby murders seven babies and attempts to kill seven others in a sickening year-long spree
May 2017 – Cheshire Police launch an investigation after “a greater number of baby deaths and collapses” in the same 12-month period
July 2018 – Letby is arrested at her home in a dawn raid, with searches taking place at her parent’s home and place of work. The probe is widened to 17 deaths and 15 collapses.
June 2019 – Letby is arrested for the second time at her parent’s home
November 2020 – The nurse is arrested for a third time and charged. She appears in court two days later.
October 2022 – Letby goes on trial at Manchester Crown Court accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill ten others
August 2023 – After a harrowing nine-month trial, Letby is found guilty of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of six others. Verdicts could not be reached on six counts of attempted murder. She is given 14 whole-life sentences.
May 2024 – The killer nurse loses a bid to appeal her convictions
June 2024 – A retrial begins into an attempted murder charge after a jury could not reach a verdict in the original trial
July 2024 – Letby is found guilty of the attempted murder of Child K and given another whole-life order
October 2024 – Letby loses her bid to appeal against the conviction from the retrial
February 2025 – The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) confirms it has received a new application from Letby to review her case
In the doc, Maisie also revealed the pair were both assigned to the Countess of Chester hospital on a university work placement.
But she told how “shy and quiet” Letby had been ignored by nurses on the ward, who went “out their way” to make things difficult for her.
Maisie also shockingly claimed she had been left alone a number of times with high-dependency babies during her placement.
The then-student nurse was reportedly told “if they go blue, give us a shout” by more senior members of the team.
Since Letby’s murder convictions, questions have been asked of the Countess of Chester hospital and whether it is fit for purpose.
Top barrister Mark McDonald – recruited by Letby’s “distraught” parents – is now leading the charge to get the nurse’s case reviewed.
Mr McDonald suggests Letby may have been a “scapegoat” for the unit.
He claims nurses were in tears after stressful shifts and were “overworked” by punitive bosses.
During the documentary, Mr McDonald points to a lack of resources and staff to attend to “so many babies” on the ward.
Mr McDonald also suggests “compelling evidence” Letby was on shift for all of the collapses was actually due to low staff numbers on the ward.
He said: “The purpose of such a rota is simple… it’s compelling evidence for the jury.
“They can say that she was always there when something went wrong. But we know this was a very small unit… and she did extra shifts.
“Letby was more qualified than many nurses on the unit which meant she got the sickest babies.
“It would be odd if she wasn’t there when something went wrong.”
He sent an appeal application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) – which reviews possible miscarriages of justice – early last year.
In the documentary, Mr McDonald also highlights that Letby’s defence team did not once call an expert witness during the harrowing trial.
Dr John Gibb – who worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital with Letby – denied claims there was a “vendetta” against Letby.
But the consultant – who helped put the nurse behind bars – has since admitted his “guilt” over her case – casting doubt on her conviction.
The pair were on the same ward between 2015 and 2016 – when Letby was found to have murdered seven babies and attempted to kill seven more.
Dr Gibb repeatedly raised concerns to management about the nurse, who he initially described as “quiet and competent”.
He has since spoken of his “guilt”, confessing they may have got “the wrong person” – as the nurse looks set to spend her life behind bars.
Speaking on Netflix’s documentary The Investigation of Lucy Letby, he admitted: “I live with two guilts.
The charges Letby has been convicted of 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 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 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 AT ORIGINAL TRIAL, NOW GUILTY AFTER RETRIAL
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
“Guilt that we let the babies down… and tiny, tiny, tiny guilt ‘Did we get the wrong person?’
“There’s a guilt, you know, just in case… miscarriage of justice.
“I don’t think there was a miscarriage of justice… but you worry that no one actually saw her do it.”
The Netflix doc explores both sides of the case behind the UK’s most prolific killer nurse and one of Britain’s worst-ever female serial killers.
Viewers hear accounts from the victim’s families, barristers connected and staff at the hospital where Letby carried out her sickening crimes.
In August 2023, the nurse was found guilty of seven counts of murder following a nine-month trial and 22 days of jury deliberation.
It hears from Dr Shoo Lee, who convened a panel of the top 14 experts from around the world to examine and write a report on each case.
Their findings were presented by Dr Lee at a press conference in London, hosted by Tory MP David Davis.
They concluded there had been no “malfeasance causing death or injury”, with Dr Lee adding, “if there was no murder… there was no murderer”.
Sarah, whose baby Zoe tragically died on the neo-natal ward during Letby’s sickening spree, slammed the panel as “disgusting”.
The mum – anonymised on screen using AI technology – is the first parent involved in the trial to be interviewed on screen for a documentary.
She slammed the “audacious” politician Mr Davis for introducing Dr Lee as the “star of the show” during the press conference.
Sarah fumed: “This is not a show. There is no star. This is nothing to smile about.
“The audacity from a politician to introduce someone like this… it is disgusting.”