Lucy Letby received 15 whole-life sentences for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others between June 2015 and June 2016, becoming Britain’s worst recorded child serial killer. Following her conviction, Cheshire police granted Netflix filmmakers unprecedented access to produce a documentary about the case. The resulting film, released on Wednesday, presents the investigation and prosecution narrative.
Since the trials concluded, substantial criticism has emerged from numerous distinguished medical experts across Britain and internationally regarding both the prosecution evidence and police handling. Dr Shoo Lee, a Canadian neonatologist, contends his research was misused to secure conviction. Many experts now believe Letby is innocent and has suffered a catastrophic miscarriage of justice. Their analysis directly contradicts the theories advanced by Dr Dewi Evans, the retired paediatrician who led the prosecution’s medical evidence.
Evans initiated his involvement after reading about the police investigation in May 2017. The documentary omits crucial context: prior to his involvement, coroners, hospital reviews, and external consultants had examined the same deaths without finding evidence of deliberate harm. Evans examined identical medical evidence and quickly reached fundamentally different conclusions. Police officers did not seek additional expert opinions or consult original pathologists regarding his novel diagnoses at that stage.
The documentary uses extensive footage of Letby’s three arrests, described as intrusive by her parents. Evidence presented includes shift charts matching Evans’ identification of suspicious incidents to Letby’s work schedule. Limited context surrounds interpretations of her keeping handover sheets or viewing babies’ parents on social media. Her private notes containing phrases like “I am evil, I did this” appear contradictory, alongside protestations of innocence. Her lawyer clarifies these notes emerged during mental distress following her removal from work, written in counselling as advised by hospital staff.
Dr Lee’s February 2025 press conference presentation concluded: “We didn’t find any murders.” His expert panel determined all babies died from medical causes, citing poor hospital care. One baby’s mother, featured anonymously, confirmed the hospital failed her child, noting delayed antibiotic treatment after membrane rupture led to fatal pneumonia and sepsis, consistent with original postmortem findings.
Hospital consultant Dr John Gibbs made a notable public statement in the film, admitting: “Tiny, tiny, tiny guilt: did we get the wrong person?” He acknowledged concern about whether a miscarriage of justice occurred, noting that no one actually witnessed Letby committing alleged acts. This represents the first public doubt admission from one of the accusing doctors. Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes expresses no reservations about the convictions and appears not to engage with expert criticism presented in the documentary.
