Married doctor who was Lucy Letby's 'boyfriend' dies
A married doctor described by prosecutors as Lucy Letby's 'boyfriend' has died.
The case of the nurse convicted of killing babies at a neonatal unit became one of the most infamous in recent history, and has since sparked a documentary with Netflix.
The doctor worked as a registrar at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2016, around two years before Letby was initially arrested.
Prosecutors in court described the doctor, who was married, as Letby's 'boyfriend', though Letby denied that she was in a relationship with him, instead saying that he was her 'best friend'.
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Some texts that she sent to him described him as 'sweetie', while notes recovered from the nurse's home described him as 'love'.
The doctor was not named in court after making a successful application for witness anonymity, and throughout the 10-month-long trial was referred to as 'Doctor A'.
Now it has emerged that the doctor, understood to have been in his 50s, has died after an illness, and his funeral has been held.
It is understood that he went to work at a different hospital after the case emerged.
Letby reportedly broke down in the dock when he was summoned before the court to give evidence.
The individual would form a key part in prosecutors' case, as they argued that Letby's infatuation with him had been a factor in her harming and attempting to harm infants.
This was because when one of the infants started to crash, the doctor would rush in to help.
Over the course of three months in 2016 it's understood that the pair exchanged approximately 1,300 messages on Facebook, in one of which he said she was 'one of the few nurses I would trust with my own children'.
The court also heard that they had gone on days out and walks together, as well as visiting London.
In 2024 at the public inquiry, the doctor said that he had been 'maybe manipulated' and 'misled' by Letby.
Letby would go on to be convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another seven between June 2015 and June 2016.
After her trial, Letby was sentenced to a whole life order, which she is currently serving at Bronzefield Prison in Surrey.
A whole life order is the most severe sentence that a UK court can pass.
Whereas a life sentence has a minimum term and someone is then effectively on bail for the rest of their life if they are released, a whole life order means that someone must spent their whole life in custody.
Other criminals to have had whole life orders include Moor Murders killers Ian Brady, who died in 2017, and Myra Hindley, who died in 2002, and Rose West, who is still alive at the time of writing.
Letby continues to maintain her innocence despite her conviction.
A panel of doctors has presented evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission which claims that it was poor care and natural causes which were to blame for the deaths.
In August 2026, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would uphold a decision to not charge Letby with further offences.
Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said in a statement on 5 August: “In January 2026, after reviewing a file of evidence from Chesire Constabulary, we decided that no further criminal charges should be brought against Lucy Letby, 36, relating to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital."
Topics: UK News, Crime, Lucy Letby
Kit Roberts