Lucy Letby's Two Friends Speak Out: Why They Believe She Is Innocent
Lucy Letby, the former neonatal nurse convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others, has two friends who have steadfastly stood by her since her guilty verdict. These individuals have publicly defended her innocence in recent years, offering personal insights into her character and raising questions about the evidence presented during her trial.
Dawn Howe: Childhood Friend and Supporter
Dawn Howe, a childhood friend of Lucy Letby, appeared on the ITV documentary Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? in August 2025. She expressed profound guilt over her own life continuing while Letby remains imprisoned. Dawn stated, "I am living a life Lucy should be living beside me in parallel. We should both be having families and we both bought our houses and we were looking forward to the next chapter of our lives and then all this happened. It is just... there is so much guilt that I am sort of living a life that Lucy should also be living."
Dawn also addressed the so-called "confession notes" used as evidence in court, explaining that they were likely part of a coping strategy. She revealed that she and Letby underwent peer support counselling training together in college, where writing down overwhelming thoughts was recommended. "I understand how people can take that note out of context and make it seem really sinister, but knowing Lucy, I think she would have written it down as a coping strategy for all of the worry and the concern that she was feeling," she told the programme.
Reflecting on the verdict, Dawn admitted to initial doubts but ultimately maintains Letby's innocence. "I thought maybe she had inadvertently, like forgotten bits of procedure, or that she'd made mistakes. There were those dark moments where I thought, well, perhaps that she inadvertently caused harm, because she's so newly qualified in such a high pressure environment. And, you know, perhaps that was why she was sort of being targeted for these sort of accusations," she said. Upon hearing the guilty verdict, she was left dumbfounded and immediately began considering next steps, insisting that Letby cannot spend the rest of her life in prison.
Janet Cox and Karen Rees: Colleagues and Defenders
Janet Cox, another close friend and former nursing colleague of Lucy Letby, has also spoken out in her defence. Cox regularly attended court alongside Letby's parents during the trial and, when asked by a journalist in August 2023 if Letby was innocent, she unequivocally responded "yes." She is understood to be among a small group of hospital staff who believe in Letby's innocence.
Karen Rees, 62, the now-retired head of urgent care nursing at Countess of Chester Hospital, was Letby's senior manager and has spoken positively about her. Despite being aware of higher mortality rates and "red flags" that led to Letby being removed from the ward, Karen recalls that other colleagues insisted Letby did things "by the book." After being reassigned to a desk job, Letby hoped to return to the ward until her arrest.
Karen described Letby as "broken" and crying regularly in her office, with Letby repeatedly asking, "why are they doing this to me? I’ve done nothing wrong Karen." In a poignant moment, Karen revealed, "I do remember Lucy saying to me ‘Karen, you're the only person that hasn't asked me. Have I purposely harmed anybody?’. And I remember her looking at me, and the reason why I'd never asked her is that I never thought she had. No I just I don't believe it."
Anonymised Friend "Maisie": University Companion
An anonymised person, given the name Maisie in the Netflix documentary, also spoke about her friendship with Lucy Letby. Maisie, a nurse whose identity is hidden, described meeting Letby at university and becoming inseparable. "After four days at university, we were basically inseparable. We were in lectures together. I'd go over to hers for dinner, she'd come over to mine for dinner. She had a very quirky sense of humour. It was just a ways fun," she said.
Maisie highlighted Letby's dedication to nursing, noting that she was an only child doted on by proud parents. "She wanted to learn. She wanted to know everything to make sure that she knew what she was doing," Maisie recalled. However, she expressed concerns about Letby's experience at Countess of Chester Hospital, where they both had their first placement. Maisie described the nurses as cliquey and unwelcoming, with Letby being ignored when trying to join conversations.
"There was this kind of feeling that the nurses didn't want us there, the medical team didn't want you there. I started to think that some people were actively going out of their way to make things hard for Lucy. And it was absolutely nothing that I can think that made them treat her that way, except the fact that they didn't like that she was shy and quiet," Maisie explained. Despite this, Letby applied for a job in the neonatal unit, which Maisie found puzzling given the hostile environment.
Maisie also read out a letter from Letby in prison, where Letby vows not to give up and details her living conditions. Lucy Letby is currently serving 15 whole-life jail terms for her crimes, which occurred between June 2015 and June 2016.
