‘No Stone Unturned’: Police Chief Blasts Lucy Letby Supporters in Fiery Statement Against Baby Killer
The senior officer who led the Lucy Letby investigation has hit out at the growing number of supporters who continue to question her guilt – despite one of the most extensive and damning trials in British history.
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes of Cheshire Constabulary didn’t hold back, branding many of the claims made online as “ill-informed” and “insensitive”. He stressed that investigators “left no stone unturned” and said the case had been subject to “rigorous and fair” scrutiny in both court and appeal.
Letby, 35, was convicted across two trials at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven more between 2015 and 2016 while working as a neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital. She’s now serving 15 whole-life sentences – effectively meaning she’ll never leave prison, reported the Mirror.
Yet, bizarrely, a small but vocal group has emerged online defending her. From Facebook fan pages to newspaper op-eds, some supporters claim Letby is innocent – with one article in The Church of England Newspaper comparing her treatment to “medieval women being demonised as witches”. The paper even praised her barrister, Mark McDonald, as “a light of generosity and concern for justice”.
Some followers have taken their obsession even further. Members of a pro-Letby Facebook group have boasted about visiting her “old haunts” in Chester, with one person openly admitting they planned to visit her former home. Back in January, a group of them even threw her a birthday bash behind bars, complete with prosecco and protest banners.
For the families of Letby’s victims, this twisted fanfare is nothing short of devastating. One friend of a bereaved parent said, “What’s next, do we have celebrations for Myra Hindley and Ian Brady?”
DS Hughes said the six-year investigation into Letby was “like no other in scope, complexity and magnitude,” with over 2,000 people spoken to and 32,000 pages of evidence reviewed. Dozens of medical experts from different fields, including paediatrics, pathology and neurology, were brought in and cross-examined in court. The jury deliberated for over 100 hours – a testament to the case’s depth and seriousness.
He warned that constant online speculation and misinformation not only risks obstructing justice but causes fresh pain to the families still grieving. “Their words are incredibly honest and powerful and must not be lost in a sea of noise,” he said, referring to the parents’ testimonies at the Thirlwall Inquiry, which continues to examine the wider failings surrounding the case.
Cheshire Police have said they’ll cooperate with any future reviews but made it clear: their focus is, and always has been, on justice for the babies and their families.