Susan and John Letby, the parents of convicted serial killer Lucy Letby, have condemned a forthcoming Netflix documentary for using footage of their daughter’s arrest filmed inside their home, describing it as a “complete invasion of privacy”. In a statement to the Sunday Times, they said watching the programme would “likely kill us”.
The documentary, titled The Investigation of Lucy Letby, is set to be released on 4 February. According to its trailer, it includes never-before-released footage of Letby being arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder while she was sitting in bed at her parents’ house, before being led out in her dressing gown. The couple expressed particular distress over scenes showing their daughter saying goodbye to one of her cats.
The Letbys questioned why police had released the video, which was filmed in their home of 40 years in a small cul-de-sac in a town where “everyone knows everyone”. They claimed they only learned of the footage from their daughter’s barrister and accused Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, an investigating officer, of harbouring a “deep hatred” of them. Hughes had cooperated with the couple when they first reported concerns that Letby was being made a scapegoat.
Lucy Letby, 36, is serving 15 whole-life terms for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others between 2015 and 2016. Last month, Cheshire Constabulary publicly criticised the decision not to charge her over additional deaths and collapses. Letby has been denied permission to appeal twice, and a campaign group has submitted reports to the Criminal Cases Review Commission seeking to overturn her convictions.
