Images show killer nurse Lucy Letby smiling with friends at a hen party the day before she murdered her first young victim.
The groupSeveral women, mostly nurses, are seen posing on Lendal Bridge in York, with Letby – then 25 – leading the group in a black floral dress and matching black handbag.
Wearing badges to commemorate the occasion, they visited several bars around the city and ended up at Vodka Revolution.
Letby returned to work a day later, on June 8, 2015, having agreed to replace a colleague.
Within 90 minutes of entering the unit, he had murdered a toddler, who can only be identified as Baby A.
Lucy Letby (right) poses with friends at a hen party in York the day before she murdered a baby. Also pictured (fourth from right) is Janet Cox, a former colleague who still believes Letby was innocent.
Another photo from the weekend shows the group at a train station. Everyone else in the photo was completely unaware of Letby’s crimes.
He was born 12 weeks early weighing 3 pounds 12 ounces and died after Letby injected him with air.
She later told a colleague that the child “died very unexpectedly,” adding: “Dad was on the floor crying: ‘Please don’t take our baby.'”
Twenty-four hours later, Letby was allegedly attempting to kill the baby’s twin sister, Baby B. Months later, she conducted sinister Facebook searches for her parents.
Letby was originally convicted in August of murdering seven children and attempting to kill six others, but a jury was unable to reach a verdict on the attempted murder of a premature baby girl known as Baby K. A jury found her guilty of that charge on Tuesday.
One of Letby’s friends who was with her at the hen party was her colleague Janet Cox, who, like everyone else working in the killer’s unit, was completely oblivious to his crimes.
Mrs Cox remains convinced of his innocence and attended his second trial every day.
She spoke briefly at the front door of her terraced home in Ellesmere Port on the Wirral when contacted by MailOnline after the original verdicts.
Asked if she still believed her friend was innocent, Ms Cox replied “Yes” but declined to elaborate.
Letby, 34, is Britain’s most prolific baby killer of modern times, having killed seven babies and attempted to kill seven others between June 2015 and June 2016.
She is still being investigated by Cheshire Police for other possible crimes against babies even earlier in her nursing career.
Letby is the most prolific child killer in modern British history
One of Letby’s friends who accompanied her to the hen party was her colleague Janet Cox, who, like everyone else working in the killer’s unit, was completely unaware of his crimes. They are pictured here at another social event.
A photo showing Letby during a night out that she shared on her social media.
Officers are currently reviewing the medical records of 4,000 babies at two hospitals where Letby worked between 2012 and 2016: the Countess of Chester and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
In August, Letby refused to leave the holding cell to hear him impose no fewer than 14 life sentences.
Tuesday’s conviction – this time for cynically dislodging the breathing tube of a baby so small it could have fit in the palm of his hand – means it is almost a formality that he will receive a 15th life sentence.
Ms Cox is not the only friend or colleague of Letby’s who has supported her.
Dawn Howe, a longtime friend, is among those refusing to accept the jury’s decision that the nurse is a baby killer.
Speaking to the BBC’s Panorama programme last summer, Ms Howe, 33, said: “Unless Lucy turns around and says ‘I’m guilty’, I will never believe she’s guilty.
We know she couldn’t have done any of the things she’s accused of, so we certainly support her.
‘I grew up with Lucy and nothing I’ve seen or witnessed of Lucy would allow me to believe for a moment that she is capable of doing the things she is accused of.
‘It’s the most out of the ordinary accusation that could be made against Lucy.
‘Think of your kindest, gentlest, most tender friend and think that he is being accused of harming babies.’
He also accused police of “trying to build a case, find someone guilty, find someone to blame” while maintaining Letby’s innocence.
Letby wearing an academic gown on her graduation day
Letby will spend the rest of his life in prison