THE Hereford girl who grew up to become the UK's most highly convicted child serial killer had long dreamed of becoming a nurse while at school in Hereford, it has been reported.
Letby's childhood friend Dawn, who attended Hereford's Aylestone School with the 33-year-old killer, told the BBC's Panorama programme that Letby had been "goofy" and "bubbly".
She described having meals out with Letby in Hereford's Broad Street and hanging out in the Cathedral Close.
"Hereford is definitely very much home for her," Dawn told the programme.
"Lucy has such strong ties to her family here."
Letby, 33, grew up in Hereford's Arran Avenue, a small cul-de-sac off Hinton Road with her parents, who have supported her throughout her trial at Manchester Crown Court.
The Daily Mail reports that she was a churchgoer, attending services at the Hope City Church, which describes itself as a church "that delights in lively, passionate Spirit-filled worship".
She attended comprehensive schools in the city before moving on to the sixth form college and then to Chester to study paediatric nursing.
In 2011, she would be employed at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neonatal unit, where she embarked on a killing spree that left seven children dead.
She also undertook training placements at Liverpool Women's Hospital, where a spokesperson has confirmed that "there is an ongoing investigation relating to the full period of Lucy Letby’s career, including training placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, which took place between October – December 2012 and January – February 2015".
The review at Liverpool Women's Hospital does not involve any deaths, the spokesperson said.
Suspicion would fall on Letby after consultants in Chester became concerned about a higher than usual number of deaths on the ward where she worked in 2015.
Detectives from Cheshire Constabulary launched an investigation into infant deaths at the hospital in May 2017, initially looking at the deaths of 15 babies between June 2015 and June 2016.
On July 3 2018 police said the probe had widened to include 17 deaths and 15 non-fatal collapses of babies between March 2015 and July 2016.
Lucy Letby was first arrested in Chester in July 2018, when a blue tent was erected in front of her home in Westbourne Road, Blacon, and officers were also later seen at her parents' property in Hereford.
She was rearrested the following year, and then again arrested in November 2020, when she was charged with eight murders and 10 attempted murders.
She was convicted on August 18 2023 after a months-long trial at Manchester Crown Court of the murder of seven babies and seven charges of attempted murder.
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