EXCLUSIVE – The house where child-killer Lucy Letby was first arrested: Inside £179k home where detectives found key evidence which helped convict nurse of murdering babies – including damning Post-it note saying: ‘I AM EVIL, I DID THIS’
- Lucy Letby will die in jail after being given 14 whole life sentences earlier today
- ‘Devil’ nurse convicted of murdering seven newborns and trying to kill six more
This is the house where killer nurse Lucy Letby was first arrested – and where crucial evidence which helped convict her of seven murders and seven counts of attempted murder was discovered by police.
Inside a diary, detectives found a damning post-it note, covered in scrawled writing, including the damning words: ‘I AM EVIL. I DID THIS’.
The former neo-natal nurse bought the semi-detached property in Chester for just under £179,000 in April 2016, while she was carrying out her secret killing spree at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
But two years later, it would be raided by crime scene investigators who found the trove of incriminating evidence.
Letby moved into the house after leaving nurse’s accommodation on the site of the Hospital.
The former neo-natal nurse bought the semi-detached property in Chester for just under £179,000 in April 2016, while she was carrying out her secret killing spree at the Countess of Chester Hospital
Letby – wearing a blue hoodie with the strings covered in pink glitter – is taken from her house in handcuffs after being arrested by Cheshire Police in July 2018
Letby steps into the police car – telling officers to be careful because she had just had knee surgery
Children’s nurse Lucy Letby (pictured in a custody photo, left; and while working in hospital, right) went on a year-long killing spree while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital
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The house has French doors out into the garden and backs onto Blacon Crematorium which has a memorial garden for babies.
Photos of Letby’s untidy home were shown to the jury at Manchester Crown Court by the prosecution in the 24th week of the marathon trial which has just ended with 14 whole life terms for Britain’s most prolific baby murderer in modern times.
As the photos of her bedroom were shown to the court, Letby, 33, wept in the dock.
Jurors were told the defendant was first arrested at the house, at 6am on July 3, 2018.
A distressed Letby wiped away tears as photographs of her bedroom – taken by a crime scene investigator – appeared on screen in court.
On the bedroom walls there were two framed pictures containing the slogans Shine Like A Diamond and Leave Sparkles Wherever You Go.
Two teddy bears were positioned on an unmade double bed while among items on the floor were a red suitcase, a large burgundy handbag and a small black handbag, the court heard.
Prosecutor Philip Astbury said three handwritten notes were recovered by police from one of the handbags.
Letby wept in court as her untidy bedroom was shown. Pictured: The bedroom, complete with her inspirational wall hangings and plant
Photographs of Lucy Letby’s bedroom were released following her conviction. A canvas on the wall bears the slogan: ‘Leave sparkles wherever you go’
Lucy Letby’s childlike bedroom at her home in Chester. It has fairy lights around the bed posts, floral curtains, stuffed toys on the bed and wall hangings that read ‘A dream is a wish your heart makes’ and ‘happy prosecco season’
The photos show cuddly toys scattered across the bed, which is decorated with a duvet cover of floral patterns and butterflies
An image of the corner of Lucy Letby’s bedroom shows pink suitcases, a Sports Direct bag stuffed with clothes, as well as two handbags. A pink hoodie is seen in the reflection of a free-standing mirror
In one ‘confession’ in which she described herself as an ‘awful person’ before writing ‘I AM EVIL I DID THIS’ (pictured)
In other notes seized by police, Letby had written ‘hate my life’, ‘can’t do this anymore’ and ‘HELP’
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The notes contained closely written words which filled the pages and included declarations of love for a doctor colleague, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Next to his name was ‘I loved you’ and ‘my best friend’.
Also contained in the notes were the words ‘Help Me’, ‘I Can’t Do This Any More’ and ‘How Can Life Be This Way’.
Jurors were told that a 2016 diary was recovered from a chest of drawers.
A reference to ‘twins’ was recorded for April 8, the date of birth for two twin boys the Crown say Letby attempted to murder, the court heard. The jury later found Letby had attempted to murder both twin boys.
On April 9 a note stating ‘twin resus’ was made.
Further entries on June 23, 24 and 25 included initial letters which the Crown say related to three other babies, including two triplet boys, that Letby allegedly attacked on those dates following her return from a holiday to Ibiza. The jury found Letby guilty on the two triplet boy murders, and could not reach a verdict on the third child.
Mr Astbury said a green Post-it note, shown to jurors at the start of Letby’s trial, was found inside the diary.
Lucy Letby’s dining room, featuring a dining table seating four in an open-plan living space
Letby’s living room area features a cosy-looking chair and a corner sofa, angled towards the TV
Her spacious kitchen features modern, well kept appliances and lots of spacious cupboards
The roomy bathroom included a standing shower and a large bath under a bright window
Part of the note read ‘I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them’, ‘I am a horrible evil person’ and in capital letters ‘I am evil I did this’.
An A4-size piece of paper containing similarly jumbled handwritten notes was also found in the diary, the court heard.
READ MORE: Inside the uni halls-style prison where Lucy Letby will spend the rest of her life: Killer nurse with 14 life sentences will see out days in HMP Low Newton where inmates go shopping for snacks and clothes, sleep in pink cells and pet animals
One sentence read: ‘I killed them. I don’t know if I killed them. Maybe I did. Maybe this is down to me.’
Underneath her bed an Ibiza bag for life was found which contained four shift handover sheets for the dates of June 23, June 24, June 25 and June 28, 2016, the court heard.
Also in the bag was her NHS ‘registered children’s nurse’ work badge, jurors heard.
A Morrisons shopping bag recovered from the bedroom contained 31 handover sheets, a blood gas reading for a child she allegedly attacked and a paper towel containing handwritten resuscitation notes.
Searches also took place on July 3, 2018 at Letby’s parents’ home in Hereford and at the defendant’s workplace at the hospital’s risk and patient safety office.
An annual leave request form from Letby – covered with untidily written jumbled words – was found in a blue folder of papers during the office search, the court heard.
The Chester property even featured a large lawn in her back garden, with some shrubs against the semi-detached home’s shared fence
The second bedroom is light and airy, with a large bed and spacious wardrobe complete with a full-length mirror
The garden also featured a wooden lattice against her neighbour’s shed – which would be perfect for climbing plants
Hearts were doodled on the form along with random words ‘Tigger’, ‘Smudge’, ‘Bergerac’ and ‘Help Me’. Tigger and Smudge were later revealed to be the names of rescue cats that Letby owned.
Sentences scrawled across the form included ‘I trusted you with everything and loved you’, ‘I really can’t do this any more, I just want life to be as it was,’ ‘I want to be happy in the job that I loved… really don’t belong anywhere, I’m a problem to those who do know me and it would be much easier for everyone if I just went away’.
Letby was re-arrested at her parents’ home on June 10, 2019 and November 11, 2020.
A search of the garage at the property on June 10 revealed another handwritten note found in a black bin bag.
Phrases on that note included ‘killing me softly’, ‘broken hearted’ and ‘no-one will ever know what happened or why’.
Six pages of medical notes of children unrelated to the trial were found at her parents’ home on the same date.
A total of 257 handover sheets were recovered during searches in the investigation, of which 21 included the names of babies in the indictment.
The police photos of Letby’s former house were in stark contrast to those shown when Letby decided to sell the property following her arrest. She sold the property in December 2019 for £201,000.
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