Lucy Letby’s parents are moving 250 miles up north to be close to their daughter, who was handed a whole-life order on Monday. Letby, 33, was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more in the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and 2016. John and Susan Letby moved to Manchester and rented a flat near Manchester Crown Court so they could attend each day of their daughter’s ten-month murder trial.
John, 77, a retail boss, and Susan, 63, an accounts clerk, are now thought to be fleeing their beloved Hereford home, where they raised the serial killer.
They reportedly want to make the move up north permanent to be closer to Letby.
Letby is set to be locked up in Durham, where she will spend the rest of her life behind bars in HM Low Newton.
The parents stood by their only daughter during the whole trial.
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John and Susan reportedly turned into recluses since Letby’s arrest in 2018.
Speaking to the Mail, one neighbour in Hereford said they had “hardly seen” the elderly couple since the arrest.
They said that before the move to Manchester, the couple “spent all their time at the back of the house and never even answered the phone”.
The neighbour added: “This is a friendly cul-de-sac and people do feel for them, but I guess there will always be a bit of finger-pointing, and more so as new people move in who never knew John and Susan.”
Another neighbour said that Letby’s parents were devoted to their daughter and were totally convinced of her innocence.
Susan broke down when the guilty verdicts were read out last week.
She collapsed into her husband’s arms and reportedly said: “You can’t be serious. This can’t be right.”
It is also understood that when Letby was first arrested in 2018, Susan reportedly told the police: “I did it, take me instead.”
Forensic psychologist Dr Naomi Murphy, who has spent 25 years working with serious violent and sexually violent criminals in prisons and hospitals, told the Mirror this week that Letby’s parents will likely feel “shame and guilt” at this moment in time.
Dr Murphy explained: “It’s likely that there is even a sense of shame (a kind of feeling contaminated by being close to someone who has done something so awful) and guilt (at failing to spot the capacity to harm and thus failing to intervene).
“With Lucy Letby’s mum, there is also the possibility that she will feel responsible in some way for her daughter’s actions – we take pride in our children’s achievements and feel like a bad parent when they let us down.”
During the court proceedings, the close bond between the three of them as a family was revealed.
In messages to her friends, Letby said her parents found it “hard” to be away from her.
