23 August 2023 , 16:45
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Lucy Letby grew up in a quiet cul-de-sac with two doting parents, a group of loyal schoolfriends and thrice-yearly holidays to the seaside. There appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary about the young woman, who one senior police officer described as 'beige'.
But she went on to become Britain's most prolific child killer and was found guilty of taking the lives of seven babies, and attempting to murder six, whilst working as an NHS neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
During her 10-month trial at Manchester Crown Court, Letby's parents, John and Susan Letby, appeared to be in complete denial of their only child's wicked crimes, and one of her close childhood friends has expressed that she still stands by the killer.
The serial killer's friend refuses to believe Letby committed such atrocious crimes (Chester Standard / SWNS.com)Dawn Howe, a schoolfriend who grew up in Hereford, recorded a television interview in which she refused to accept that Letby was guilty. In her interview with BBC's Panorama, she expressed her reasoning behind her strong belief that Letby did not commit the crimes. She explained that it came down to knowing details of her Letby's character. Calling her the 'the kindest person', she said that Letby was 'kind, gentle, soft' and suggested this was the reason she didn't believe her friend was capable of killing.
"Unless Lucy turned around and said 'I'm guilty', I will never believe that she's guilty," Ms Howe said. Seemingly choosing to speak on behalf of a group of friends, she added: "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 thing's she's accused of.
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"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." The former nurse's neighbours have also spoken out about Letby's nature and personality. "I've known her since she was a little girl. I thought I knew her, but I guess I didn't know her at all," one local, who chose to remain anonymous, said.
Another neighbour in her home town commented: "Her parents absolutely doted on her, it'll be the end of them. I feel so sorry for them, but I also feel so sorry for all the those parents who have lost their babies." A third neighbour said: "She was just a normal girl, she was quite quiet, but seemed lovely. Her mum and dad doted on her all her life. It's difficult to take in to be honest." And a friend who went to sixth form college with Letby told us: "We didn't want to believe it, but she's done it hasn't she? The jury won't be wrong. You have to feel so sorry for those families."
Yet, Letby was found guilty of seven counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder. The 33-year-old was convicted of deliberately harming the infants in various ways, including injecting them with air and/or milk into the stomach and adding insulin as a poison to feeds.
Letby denied all the allegations as she gave evidence in the witness box for 14 days during the trial, which began last October. She denied doing anything harmful to any child and that the sudden collapses and deaths could have been due to natural causes, or for some unascertained reason, or from failure by others to provide appropriate care.