Netflix's Letby Documentary Raises More Questions Than It Answers

Netflix's extensively touted documentary, The Investigation of Lucy Letby, finally aired last week. The feature promised to offer "unseen footage and unheard insider accounts" offering an unprecedented degree of insight into one of the most divisive and troubling cases of our times. Produced by ITN, working closely alongside Cheshire Constabulary, the documentary left me with an overwhelming sense of unease and a renewed belief that the status-quo, that would see a potentially innocent thirty-six-year-old spend the rest of her life in prison, cannot and should not be maintained. There are just far too many flaws and inconsistencies in her prosecution for the conviction to be deemed 'safe'.

Such revelations are unnecessarily cruel and it encapsulates the police's cack-handed media approach.

The roughly ninety minute long piece opens with previously unseen footage of Lucy Letby's third, and final, arrest at her parents' home in Hereford. At the end of a winding cul-de-sac the family home, where they have lived for over forty years, was revealed in what her parents have described as a "complete invasion of privacy". John and Susan Letby broke their long media silence to decry this invasion further stating that they would not be watching as it would "likely kill them" to relive the arrest. Indeed, as Lucy Letby is escorted out of the house her mother howls in pain, a noise so chilling it led Peter Hitchens to recommend avoiding the feature entirely. Such revelations are unnecessarily cruel and it encapsulates the police's cack-handed media approach.

Laying out the police investigation methodically the documentary engages with some of the key evidence presented at trial including the supposed 'confession note', the staffing chart, and the hoard of confidential documents found in Letby's bedroom. None of this is new information, and essential flaws have been raised with each of these, although the more powerful evidence comes from interviews with the mother of baby 'Zoe', one of the victims Letby is convicted of murdering. She recalls the pain of her daughter's sudden collapse and the shock of her death when she had been told 'Zoe's' condition would continue to improve. As has been pointed out, however, the only thing worse than Letby being guilty of the crimes she is accused of is if she isn't guilty at all, and the bereaved parents have been put through all of this unnecessarily.

Paul Hughes is the police officer who led Operation Hummingbird, the multi-million pound investigation into Letby, and in the documentary he states that "challenge is good". This has drawn considerable ire from critics of Cheshire Constabulary who note that the force has completely stopped replying to freedom of information requests relating to the case, has begun deleting inquisitive comments on its YouTube account, and has stopped using X entirely because of the number of questions being asked of the investigation. It is just one of the many hypocrisies disseminated by Hughes' team and is an example of how a documentary that was intended to reinforce the police narrative has in many ways backfired.

One such example relates to the new bodycam footage that reveals Lucy Letby was in fact arrested in bed. During the trial this seemingly trivial detail became a key issue as the prosecution claimed she hadn't and was in fact a manipulative liar attempting to evoke sympathy from the jury. We now know that she was in fact arrested, as she had claimed, in bed. Perhaps the most poignant moment of the entire film is when Dr. Gibbs, one of the consultants who had originally raised Letby as being of concern to the police, describes his concern and "small guilt" that they may have convicted the wrong person. This is the first time any of the consultants from the neonatal ward have publicly expressed any doubt and was enough for Letby's lawyer, Mark McDonald, to take to X asking "What?".

So, what do we learn from the documentary? Well, nothing really. It raises more questions than it answered and the unchallenged claims of both the prosecution and defence camps make for less than compulsory watching. I am firmly of the view that this case is only set to become a bigger and more consequential story. Letby's conviction is blatantly flawed but, at the same time, the case itself is so complex that without expert opinion and the full range of facts it is hard to come to a definitive opinion either way. This, however, is not how the law works. Her conviction needs to be 'safe' to stand and it is obvious that this is not the case. There remain so many questions, flaws, and inconsistencies that it should be impossible to let the conviction stand. If even the smallest chance exists that a completely innocent, and wronged, woman is in jail then we must work tirelessly to see her case retried in a fair and open manner.

A documentary that was intended to reinforce the police narrative has in many ways backfired.

We wait to see the outcome of the CCRC's review that will determine whether the case makes it back to the Court of Appeal. We can only hope that it does, but until then the public litigation of the case will continue. Debates and opinions will continue to be held and shared across the internet and I am certain the police will continue their strange and deeply concerning media strategy that sees a supposedly impartial force fight tooth and nail to defend the original conviction irrespective of new evidence. There are so many interesting facets to this case yet, somehow, this documentary seemed to miss all nuance. It is a case that is complex and troubling beyond belief and right now the truth feels more evasive than ever.

The Investigation of Lucy Letby is on Netflix.

Image: Netflix/YouTube