Netflix Lucy Letby Film Reignites Justice Storm

A new Netflix documentary on Britain’s worst child serial killer has thrown the Lucy Letby case back into the spotlight, reopening fierce debate over her convictions. The Investigation Of Lucy Letby is released on Wednesday after police gave filmmakers “unparalleled and exclusive access.” But the film lands amid growing claims from medical experts that the case may represent a catastrophic miscarriage of justice.

Letby was sentenced to 15 whole-life terms for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven more. The crimes were said to have taken place between June 2015 and June 2016 at the Countess of Chester hospital. Her convictions made her Britain’s worst ever child serial killer.

Cheshire police agreed to cooperate with the Netflix project shortly after sentencing. At the time, producers could not have predicted the storm that would follow. Since two trials, the prosecution evidence and police handling have faced intense scrutiny.

A large group of British and international medical experts now question the convictions. They are led by Canadian neonatologist Dr Shoo Lee. He says his research was misused to help convict Letby.

Lee and other experts are convinced Letby is innocent. They argue the babies died from natural medical causes and poor care. Their views directly clash with prosecution experts relied on by Cheshire police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The prosecution case was led early on by retired paediatrician Dr Dewi Evans. In the film, Evans says he contacted police in 2017 after reading media reports of an investigation. He recalls emailing a police contact, saying: “Sounds like my kind of case.”

The documentary does not show key context, according to critics. Before Evans’ involvement, there had been postmortems, inquests, internal hospital reviews, a Royal College inspection, and external consultant reviews. None found evidence of deliberate harm to any baby.

Evans reviewed the same material and reached different conclusions. The film gives no indication that police returned to original pathologists or sought wider expert opinion at that stage. Later, other prosecution experts supported Evans’ views.

Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes says in the film the reality was “sickening.” He describes the moment police began asking who could be responsible for murder. He is not shown engaging with later expert criticism.

Cheshire police also promised “never before seen” footage. Much of it shows Letby’s three arrests. She is seen breaking down at her home and later being arrested at her parents’ house in Hereford.

The footage has been criticised as intrusive. Letby is shown in a dressing gown and later in a nightie, with her teddy bear visible by her bed. Her parents have said this breached privacy.

The film revisits familiar evidence, including shift charts linking Letby to 25 “suspicious incidents.” Little context is given for claims about her keeping handover sheets or looking up parents on Facebook.

More attention is paid to Letby’s handwritten notes. Some included the lines “I am evil, I did this” and “I killed them on purpose.” The CPS said the jury should read these as a confession.

Other notes, however, said: “I haven’t done anything wrong” and “I feel very alone and scared.” Her lawyer Mark McDonald says the notes were written during counselling after she was removed from her job. Letby has never confessed and is shown in interviews denying the charges.

Dr Shoo Lee appears in the film and is shown attending a London press conference in February 2025. He told reporters: “Ladies and gentlemen, we didn’t find any murders.” His panel concluded the babies died from medical causes and failures in care.

One anonymous mother is featured. She agrees the hospital failed her and her baby. But she also says staff believed her baby was improving.

The most striking moment comes from consultant Dr John Gibbs. He admits to “tiny, tiny, tiny guilt” about whether the wrong person was convicted. He says he does not believe there was a miscarriage of justice, but worries because no one saw Letby harm a baby.

It is the first public hint of doubt from a doctor involved. With the Netflix film now released, the controversy shows no sign of fading.

Key Takeaways

• Netflix releases a documentary after police gave rare access to the Letby case.

• International experts led by Dr Shoo Lee say the convictions may be unsafe.

• A hospital consultant admits to a small doubt over whether justice was done.

Lucy Letby documentary reveals first admission of ‘tiny’ doubt from doctors who accused her