Lucy Letby’s parents criticise Netflix documentary over ‘invasion of privacy’ | Lucy Letby
Lucy Letby’s parents have criticized the use of the footage to be released in a new Netflix documentary about their daughter’s crimes as a “total invasion of privacy” and said watching it “will probably kill us”.
Susan and John Letby questioned why police released video of Letby’s arrest, which took place at the couple’s home, and said they were concerned it would turn their home into a “tourist attraction”.
In a statement to the Sunday Times, the couple said: “Previous programs about Lucy, including Panorama and reports showing her being led out in handcuffs in a blue tracksuit almost every night, are heartbreaking for us. But this Netflix documentary is on another level. We had no idea they were using filming in our home. We won’t be watching it, it would probably kill us if we did.”
According to the trailer, The Investigation of Lucy Letby will include footage that has “never been made public” as well as interviews with police and lawyers. It is scheduled to be released on February 4.
This recording also includes video of officers arresting Letby on suspicion of murder and attempted murder as she sits on a bed in her dressing gown before being escorted off the property.
Her family said the images of Letby being “arrested in her bedroom at our home and saying goodbye to one of her beloved cats” were “even sadder”.
“God knows how much more there is to show. This is all happening in the house we’ve lived in for 40 years. A little cul-de-sac in a small town where everyone knows everyone,” they said. “This is a complete invasion of privacy and we wouldn’t have known about it if Lucy’s lawyer hadn’t told us.”
Letby, 36, is serving 15 life sentences after being found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven more between June 2015 and June 2016.
Her family claimed Det Supt Paul Hughes, the investigating officer in Letby’s case, held a “deep hatred” towards them.
“Why is it that Paul Hughes, with whom we have always had full cooperation, is allowed to show the world what happened in our house that morning, but Netflix doesn’t even have the decency to tell us?” they said. “He seems to have a deep hatred towards us, even though we were the first to go to Blacon police station to report this in March 2017. [the hospital consultants] Stephen Brearey and Ravi Jayaram were making Lucy a scapegoat.”
Last month it was confirmed the former pediatric nurse would not face further charges over further deaths and collapses of babies being investigated by police.
In a rare move, Cheshire Constabulary publicly spoke out against the decision, saying it was “not the outcome we expected throughout our investigation”.
Letby was twice refused permission to appeal his convictions, and a campaign group that believes he is innocent has submitted reports to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in a bid to overturn his convictions.
Netflix and Cheshire Constabulary have been contacted for comment.
