A new Netflix documentary capturing Lucy Letby’s arrest while she was in her pyjamas has drawn sharp criticism from her parents, who have labeled it a “complete invasion of privacy.”
In their first public statement since their daughter received a life sentence in August 2023, Susan and John Letby expressed their belief that the top officer involved in the investigation of the infant deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital held a “deep hatred” towards them.
Their comments precede the release of the documentary, set to premiere on Wednesday, which promises to reveal more previously unseen footage of Letby during her arrests.
This comes as eminent experts increasingly question the integrity of the prosecution’s case against Letby, now 36, who was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others at the hospital between 2015 and 2016.
Over the last year and a half, The Mail on Sunday has spotlighted the fact that her conviction relied heavily on disputed statistical analyses and controversial theories regarding how she might have harmed the infants.
The jury reached their decision without any forensic evidence, CCTV footage, or a clear motive to support the charges against her.
Apparent contradictions in the testimony of Dr Dewi Evans, 75, the prosecution’s chief expert witness, have come under particular scrutiny.
Cheshire Constabulary passed further evidence to prosecutors last year relating to eight potential offences of attempted murder and one offence of murder at the hospital.
Lucy Letby’s parents John and Susan Letby at Manchester Crown Court in 2023
Lucy Letby during her arrest. Her parents have claimed police footage, shown in a new Netflix documentary, of Letby being arrested in her pyjamas is a ‘complete invasion of privacy’
But after studying the files, the CPS confirmed last month that Letby will face no further charges. Her defence team argue that this was because a new trial would have exposed the flaws in her original convictions.
A trailer for the Netflix programme shows officers arriving at the nurse’s family home, where she was staying with her parents, in Hereford in June 2019 and entering her bedroom.
She is seen sitting up in bed, looking confused, as police say they are arresting her on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. She is then led away in her dressing gown.
The Letbys told The Sunday Times that said they would not watch the documentary because ‘it would likely kill us if we did’. They said in a statement: ‘We’ve always imagined that if something life-changing is going to happen to you the next day, you would somehow have a premonition that something was about to happen.
‘We can honestly say that on the eve of all three of the arrests we had absolutely no idea they were coming.’
Her parents questioned why police had decided to release the footage and said: ‘Why is [investigating officer Detective Superintendent] Paul Hughes, with whom we always co-operated fully, allowed to show the world what took place in our house that morning and Netflix not even have the decency to tell us?
A trailer for the Netflix programme shows officers arriving at Letby’s family home, where she was staying with her parents, in Hereford in June 2019 and entering her bedroom. Police then arrest her on suspicion of murder and attempted murder
Letby was jailed for life in August 2023 for the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others between 2015 and 2016
Netflix’s Lucy Letby documentary is set to be released next week
‘He seems to have a deep hatred of us.’
The couple reveal that they had co-operated with the police by reporting to them in March 2017 that Stephen Brearey and Ravi Jayaram – doctors at the hospital whose role in encouraging a police investigation into Letby at a time when the hospital was struggling to keep premature babies alive – were trying to make their daughter a ‘scapegoat’ for the failings.
Dame Esther Rantzen, the former host of BBC consumer show That’s Life!, told The Sunday Times that the case should be re-examined.
Letby’s case is now being considered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
