EXCLUSIVE: ‘I will never believe Lucy Letby is guilty’: Childhood friend maintains nurse is innocent as video emerges of pair on ‘Night of Terror’ – almost six years to the day murderer tried to kill baby girl three times
A childhood friend of Lucy Letby’s has maintained she’s still behind the murderous nurse – as video emerged of them having a ‘night of terror’ during their teenage years.
The footage was captured nearly seven years ago on the day the killer attempted to kill twins.
Letby, 33, is Britain’s most prolific child killer and was sentenced yesterday to a staggering 14 life sentences – meaning she will die in prison.
A judge said she had displayed “maliciousness bordering on sadism” following a “cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of infanticide.”
But despite ten months of damning evidence against Letby in one of Britain’s longest trials ever, her school friend Dawn Howe refuses to accept her guilt.
When asked yesterday if she still stood by her comments that she would ‘never believe Lucy is guilty’, Ms Howe said: ‘I stand by that statement.’
She continues to be tagged in two videos of a 2009 drunken night out with Letby and friends on social media, which has been dubbed the “Night of Terror.”
The footage was taken on September 3, 2009. Six years later, on September 7, 2015, Letby attempted to murder a young boy.
Despite Lucy Letby being found guilty by a jury after a 10-month trial, friend Dawn Howe insists she is innocent
Letby, Mrs. Howe and a group of friends are crouched around a swimming pool as two of them put their heads through inflatable rings
It shows the killer nurse holding Dawn as they stumble down the street.
Photos posted from when they were teenagers, which have still not been removed despite Letby’s heinous crimes, show Mrs Howe and her close friend Letby enjoying life in Hereford, where they both grew up.
In one photo, the two are wearing helmets and waterproof tops as they prepare for an exciting adventure with fellow school friends.
A friend, who still has the image from 2007 on her Facebook, posts: “Getting outfits.”
In another image, Letby, Mrs. Howe and a group of friends are crouched around a swimming pool, with two of them putting their heads through inflatable rings. The photo is accompanied by the comment: ‘Swimming pool. Look at the cool glasses.’
Mrs. Howe and her good friend Letby enjoy life in Hereford, where both grew up as teenagers
Letby makes a face during the ‘Night of Terror’ in a photo taken years ago by one of her teenage friends
Letby and her friend are beaming in this candid photo where they appeared to be abseiling
Other images show the pair with friends in 2007, accompanied by the comment, “The girls.”
Another shows Letby on a couch surrounded by friends, playfully raising her fingers with a happy, casual expression on her face after a night accompanied by the comment, “Posing.”
The photos of Letby, Mrs. Howe and other friends show the happy, carefree life the former nurse enjoyed and the strong bonds they developed.
Mrs Howe has known Letby since they attended Aylestone Secondary School in Hereford together.
In an interview with BBC Panorama on Friday, she claimed that all of Letby’s friends still supported her, despite the murderous nurse having been convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more.
She said, “Unless Lucy turned around and said I’m guilty, I’ll never believe she’s guilty.”
“We know she couldn’t have done anything she’s been accused of, so we stand by her without a doubt.
“I grew up with Lucy and nothing I’ve ever seen or seen from Lucy has made me believe for a moment that she’s capable of what she’s accused of doing.
Letby, 33, is Britain’s most prolific child killer and was sentenced yesterday to a staggering 14 life sentences – meaning she will die in prison. She is pictured on a night out (left) and in a custody photo (right)
“It’s the most deviant accusation you could ever make against Lucy. Think of your sweetest, most gentle friend and think he or she is accused of harming babies.”
Ms Howe told BBC journalist Judith Moritz that Letby always wanted to be a nurse and had had a difficult birth herself.
She said it was the only career her friend had ever mentioned, adding, “She was very grateful to be alive to the nurses who helped save her life.”
She also accused the police of “trying to build a case, find someone guilty to blame someone,” while maintaining Letby’s innocence.
The serial killer was described as shy and reserved, but would “let her hair down” and be “goofy” and “bubbly” when she was around close friends – who she told not to come to court to tell her to support.
Yesterday, the cowardly Letby was sentenced to life in prison for the seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder for which she was convicted – making a total of fourteen.
The NHS nurse is the fourth woman to receive a life sentence, after Myra Hindley, Rose West and triple murderer Joanna Dennehy.
The killer refused to come out of jail to hear her fate, a move one victim’s father called “a coward’s last act of wickedness.”
Judge Goss said Letby showed a “morbid fascination” with seriously ill children, inflicting “acute pain” as they desperately fought for life.
Letby poses for a group of women on a chicken just hours before killing her first victim
Ms Howe told BBC journalist Judith Moritz that Letby always wanted to be a nurse and had had a difficult birth herself
He told the court: “You acted in a manner that was completely contrary to the normal human instincts of feeding and caring for babies and a gross violation of the trust that all citizens place in those who work in the medical and nursing professions. .
“The babies you hurt were born prematurely and some were in danger of dying, but in any case you hurt them on purpose, with the intention of killing them.”
The judge said Letby would receive copies of his comments and the personal statements of her victims’ families.
He said only Letby knew what had prompted her to embark on a “cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of infanticide,” noting that she had “cold-bloodedly denied any responsibility for your misdeeds.”
Mrs Howe has known Letby since they attended Aylestone Secondary School in Hereford together.
In an interview with BBC Panorama on Friday, she claimed that all of Letby’s friends still supported her, despite the murderous nurse having been convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more.