Lucy Letby's parents now from sick campaign to 'gun threat to hospital boss'

Former neonatal caregiver Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering 7 babies but her parents look to inactive beryllium successful implicit denial astir the babe killer's unimaginable crimes.

Letby, 34, was handed 15 whole-life orders for sidesplitting the tots and attempting to execution 7 others astatine Countess of Chester Hospital. The evil medic targeted 17 babies betwixt June 2015 and June 2016 but has ever claimed she is innocent.

At a property league today, lawyers representing the convicted slayer announced they had applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to analyse her lawsuit arsenic a imaginable miscarriage of justice. They assertion to person "significant caller aesculapian evidence".

A CCRC spokesperson said: "We are alert that determination has been a large woody of speculation and commentary surrounding Lucy Letby's case, overmuch of it from parties with lone a partial presumption of the evidence. We inquire that everyone remembers the families affected by events astatine the Countess of Chester Hospital betwixt June 2015 and June 2016."

The kid serial killer's parents John and Susan Letby volition apt invited the application, contempt 2 trials proving their daughter's guilt. Here we look astatine the couple's warped enslaved with the slayer nurse...

Doting parents

Letby was calved successful Hereford connected January 4, 1990, the lone kid of furnishings brag John Letby, past 44, and accounts clerk Susan Letby, past 29. Neighbours accidental their girl was ever a 'delight' to her parents.

They watched her thrive astatine broad Aylestone School, past Hereford Sixth Form College and her archetypal part-time occupation was arsenic a teen astatine WH Smith. She became the archetypal subordinate of the household to postgraduate - with a BSc successful Child Nursing from the University of Chester successful 2011 - and the mates were truthful delighted that they took retired an advertisement successful the section paper.

It read: "We are truthful arrogant of you aft each your hard work." They did the aforesaid again erstwhile she turned 21, accompanying the day announcement with a photograph of their girl arsenic a sweet-looking child.

And portion they were said to beryllium unhappy astir her moving distant from Hereford to commencement her caller job, they helped Letby bargain her archetypal home; a £179,000 three-bedroom semi, conscionable a mile from the Countess of Chester Hospital, wherever she lived unsocial with her 2 rescue cats, Tigger and Smudge.

'Constant guilt'

However, Mr Letby, present 77, and Mrs Letby, 63, "hated it" erstwhile their lone kid did not instrumentality location aft graduating from university, thing she admitted made her consciousness "constantly guilty". The trio's adjacent enslaved tin beryllium gleaned from Letby's correspondence with friends.

She told them her parents recovered it "hard" being distant from her and "worry massively". Messaging a person who had mentioned emigrating to New Zealand, Letby said: "I couldn't permission my parents. They would beryllium wholly devastated. Find it hard capable being distant from maine present and it's lone 100 miles.

"I came present to uni and didn't spell back. They hatred it and I consciousness blameworthy for staying present sometimes but it's what I want." She told another: "My parents interest massively astir everything and anything, hatred that I unrecorded unsocial etc. I consciousness atrocious due to the fact that I cognize it's truly hard for them particularly arsenic I'm an lone child, and they mean well, conscionable a small suffocating astatine times and perpetually consciousness guilty."

It could beryllium that this feeling of "suffocation" led to Letby seeking attraction elsewhere erstwhile she was 100 miles distant from her parents. One scientist connected to the lawsuit told the Mail Letby was a 'covert narcissist'.

Other substance messages sent passim her murderous spree uncover however she sought sympathy and admiration from colleagues. After the decease of her archetypal unfortunate - Baby A - successful June 2015, a chap caregiver sent her a connection which read: "I anticipation you are OK, you were brilliant. It was the hardest happening I've ever had to do," Letby responded. "Just a large daze for america all. Hard coming successful contiguous and seeing the parents."

Lecturer successful criminology astatine Loughborough University Dominic Wilmott said helium believes immoderate of the nurse's texts suggest she wanted to 'garner sympathy' aft the babies' deaths. He said past week that she whitethorn person been motivated by a 'pathological tendency for attraction and sympathy'.

The prosecution argued passim the proceedings that Letby besides wanted to summation the sympathy of a doc she had go "infatuated" with. There are claims that she was animated aft immoderate of the murders, arsenic if revelling successful the play she had created, starring to the proposition that Letby was suffering from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, a information successful which carers tin intentionally harm children successful bid to summation attraction for themselves.

Unshakeable faith

Before her proceedings began, the mates relocated from Hereford to Manchester successful bid to beryllium adjacent by. They were seen making loving glances to their girl arsenic she sat successful the dock. Mr and Mrs Letby were a changeless presence, often seen smoking connected the tribunal steps during breaks and adjacent went arsenic acold arsenic criticising journalists for their coverage.

They complained astir the duration, which lasted immoderate 10 months, arsenic they had to widen their rent connected the level adjacent to Manchester Crown Court. Their religion successful their girl remains unshakeable, adjacent erstwhile the assemblage convicted her. Mrs Letby's disbelief was laid bare successful tribunal erstwhile she collapsed sobbing into her husband's arms, astatine 1 constituent shouting: "You can't beryllium serious. This cannot beryllium right."

And successful a last motion of solidarity with their girl pursuing the trial, they were not successful tribunal erstwhile she was fixed a full beingness bid portion Letby cowered successful her cell. She volition present walk the remainder of her days successful HMP Low Newton successful Durham, which has besides caged Baby P's mum and Rose West among different villains.

'Angry weapon threat'

The killer's devoted parents Susan and John attended each time of her proceedings astatine Manchester Crown Court, moving to a level successful the metropolis centre to beryllium person to her. When Letby had been removed from the ward and placed nether probe aft her horrified colleagues raised the alarm astir babies being harmed, John is said to person launched launched a ferocious defence connected her behalf.

The CEO of the Countess of Chester Hospital met the killer's parents connected December 22, 2016, erstwhile she had won a grievance process against the hospital. Tony Chambers aboriginal told the Thirlwall Inquiry: "Letby's begetter was precise angry. He was making threats, that would person conscionable made an already hard concern adjacent worse by threatening GMC referrals for the doctors, he's threatening guns to my caput and each sorts of things." The killer's begetter was besides said to person "exerted pressure" via telephone calls to members of unit astatine the hospital.

Backing appeals

Letby's parents person not spoken publically since their girl was convicted but sources adjacent to them accidental they have been successful interaction with experts who judge she is innocent, adjacent expressing their "heartfelt thanks" to those questioning her guilt. The anguished families of Letby's tiny victims person frankincense endured caller agony arsenic the killer's parent's dependable their tendency for her to beryllium freed.