Lucy Letby’s ‘mystery lover’: How killer told court she couldn’t have been infatuated with a married doctor because she had a ‘house, a car, and a boyfriend’ – but no-one has ever identified him

Lucy Letby has claimed she has a mystery boyfriend as she tries to dismiss claims she had an affair with a married doctor in her unit.

The NHS nurse has been denounced as Britain’s worst modern-day serial child killer and was sentenced to an unprecedented 14 life sentences yesterday.

During her trial, she was questioned about her relationship with a consultant who became her “best friend” when she murdered babies at work.

Letby, 33, insisted they were ‘nothing more’ than ‘trusted’ friends and denied being ‘in love’ with the doctor, who requested anonymity at the start of the trial.

On one occasion, Letby went to London with the doctor and was due to go a second time before the trip was cancelled.

The prosecution claimed that her infatuation with the Registrar was one of her motivations for harming the babies, as she knew that when one fell seriously ill, he would rush to help them.

During her trial, Lucy Letby was questioned about her relationship with a consultant who became her “best friend” when she murdered babies at work.

He had sent her a message ending with a big red heart emoji.

Nick Johnson KC, suing, asked her to read the message aloud, but then had to prompt her twice before she finally referenced the emoji. “It’s a heart,” she told him.

Letby had responded to the doctor’s love heart with one of her own, combined with a smiley face emoji.

“It’s a smiling face and a heart,” she said.

Mr Johnson asked: ‘But wasn’t that your boyfriend?’

Letby replied: ‘It’s not a relationship at all. It’s a friendship’.

Mr Johnson went on to refer to a note in which the nurse says she is ‘a horrible person’ and laments the likelihood that ‘I will never know what it is to have a family’.

The lawyer asked, “What made you think at the time you wrote this that you would never have a family?”

The living room of the house where Letby lived in Cheshire before his arrest

The bedroom inside the house, which had now been sold

Mr Johnson said: ‘You had a house, you had a car, you had a boyfriend?

– Yes, answered the nurse.

The trial heard no further evidence regarding this apparent relationship. It is not known how long this lasted or who the boyfriend was.

Alternatively, it may have been a figment of Letby’s imagination.

The nurse was not romantically involved, with the mother of a close friend saying: “There was no boyfriend, well not to my knowledge anyway.’

Likewise, her devious nature was revealed during the trial, with the judge explaining how she went to great lengths to make her colleagues believe the deaths that occurred on her watch were just a string of ‘bad luck’ .

The nurse murdered seven babies and tried to kill six others

In addition to falsifying medical records, Letby would attack babies during their breaks and contaminate food they would use later without realizing it.

Attempting to explain her damning rating, Letby argued that she ‘couldn’t see a future for myself’ because she felt senior staff were trying to hold her accountable for what she saw as failures. to the hospital.

Mr Johnson asked: “But were you having a good time?

Letby replied, “Yeah, there were times over those years when I had a lot of fun. Yes.’

The nurse murdered seven babies and attempted to kill six others.