Inside Lucy Letby's disturbing Christmas Day error that sparked suspicion
A psychologist and body language expert has shed light on Lucy Letby's Christmas Day error that sparked suspicion among investigators, ultimately contributing toward her eventual conviction.
The crimes of Letby undoubtedly rank among some of the most disturbing cases in recent times, with the former neonatal nurse using her position to kill some of the most vulnerable babies at Chester's Countess of Chester Hospital, in 2015 and 2016. Following a 10-month trial, Hereford-born Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six more, making her the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history. Letby was handed an exceptionally rare whole-life order by Judge James Goss, who stated that the 33-year-old had acted with 'malevolence bordering on sadism'.
Letby was found guilty of murdering seven of the babies in her care (PA)Among various disturbing aspects of the case, Manchester Crown Court was told how cruel Letby "tracked families of her victims on Facebook after killing them". It was discovered that Lucy had searched for the mother of Baby E and Baby F nine times and the father once - even looking up their names on Christmas Day, 2015. During cross-examination, as per Sky News, Letby told the court, "I often thought of [her]", to which prosecutor Nick Johnson KC responded, "She was the person who caught you in the act." Letby denied this was the reason why she remembered her, stating that they had a 'good relationship'.
Letby admitted to carrying out the searches, which added up to a total of 2,380 across 12 months, but claimed she had looked out of 'general curiosity', and denied getting a kick out of it. Psychologist and body language expert Darren Stanton has now shed some light on the intentions behind these searches during an interview with the Mirror, equating this sort of behaviour to a pre-social media era killer returning to the scene of a crime.
Former police officer Stanton, who is currently working with Judge Robert Rinder on the TV show Rob Rinder’s Interrogation Secrets, cautioned people to be careful about how much information they share online, which could well leave them vulnerable to those who engage in stalking or harassment behaviour - including sociopaths and psychopaths. Stanton, who has earned the nickname 'the human lie detector', said: "It's almost how they used to say in old detective films, the murderer always returns to the scene of the crime. All the internet is a digital method or a killer or some other criminal to return to the scene of the crime, but not in a physical sense."
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Reflecting upon his previous career as a police officer attending scenes of arson, Stanton recalled: "The person that lit that fire was 99 per cent of the time in that crowd, watching us". Considering why a murderer like Letby would look up her victims' families so frequently, even on days like Christmas, Stanton revealed that such behaviour is all about 'getting another sense of the power'.
Letby faces a retrial over one charge (Chester Standard / SWNS.com)He continued: "The thing we've noticed with killers is if they've not been caught, and the person is being buried, they will actually go to the funeral. Again, it's very much this macabre aspect of, and it's not a nice word, but looking at their handiwork. They seem to get off on the grief of the relatives, and seeing the consequences of their actions."
According to Stanton, there is an important distinction to make between sociopathy and psychopathy. Whereas sociopaths may still 'have a degree of emotion', and may even feel some grief for what they've done, psychopaths will be 'clinically devoid' of any emotion, and 'very, very good at manipulation'. In Stanton's view, Letby fits the profile of somebody who has 'one foot in psychopathy' Stanton explained: "I wouldn't say she's an extreme example of a psychopath, but I certainly wouldn't put her at the lower end of psychopathy either. I think she's probably mid-point. I think she's aware of what she's done."
Letby faces a re-trial for one count of attempted murder of a newborn baby girl in June 2024. She has also applied to appeal all her existing convictions.
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