Letby's Doctor 'Boyfriend' Named After Anonymity Order Lifted
Letby's Doctor 'Boyfriend' Named After Anonymity Order Lifted
The News
The doctor described at Lucy Letby's trial as her "boyfriend" has been named as Mark Deakin, a consultant paediatrician who died in July aged 53, after a court order granting him lifelong anonymity was lifted.
Deakin worked alongside Letby at the Countess of Chester Hospital during the period in which she murdered seven babies and attempted to murder six others in 2015 and 2016, the BBC reported. He gave evidence at her trial from behind a screen, shielded from Letby, the public gallery and the press.
He later worked as a consultant at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. The BBC reported that he was dismissed after it was found he had breached patient confidentiality in text exchanges with Letby, and that there have been reports he died shortly after learning of his sacking. The BBC said it is understood he had been unwell.
Timeline
Letby murders seven babies and attempts to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where Deakin works as a doctor.
At what the BBC calls the longest murder trial in UK history, Deakin testifies about several babies under special measures, including anonymity and a screen. Letby bursts into tears the first time he is sworn in.
Deakin continues his medical career, becoming a consultant at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
Evidence reveals Deakin and Letby exchanged more than 1,000 Facebook messages, and that he helped her secure a placement at Alder Hey after she was suspected of murdering babies.
Deakin dies at 53. The Sun and the Daily Mail report he was found collapsed in his car the day after he was dismissed from Alder Hey.
The anonymity order is lifted and Deakin is publicly identified for the first time.
Reactions
Testifying to the Thirlwall inquiry, Deakin said he had been "misled" and "maybe manipulated" by Letby and that he was tricked into giving her information about babies she had attacked. He said helping her had "been a massive mistake" and that he had "a lot of regrets."
At trial, prosecuting barrister Nick Johnson KC put it to Letby that she "didn't like hearing your boyfriend giving evidence." Letby replied: "That's unfair." Pressed on whether she had a crush on the doctor, she said: "No. There was nothing between me and that Mark." She accepted the two had gone on a trip to London together.
In Facebook messages read to the court, Deakin described Letby as "one of the few nurses across the region... that I would trust with my own children."
The BBC noted that while some media reports described Deakin as "a key witness," he was one of many former colleagues whose testimony helped build the case, and none of the convictions rested solely on his evidence.
What's Next
An inquest into the circumstances of Deakin's death will now be opened.
The Thirlwall inquiry, examining how Letby's murders were able to take place, is due to publish its findings on Sept. 15.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission is conducting a review of Letby's convictions. She has always maintained her innocence and is serving whole life prison terms.
More
Deakin was married with children. The Independent reported he had been granted lifelong anonymity ahead of giving evidence at Letby's trial — a protection that ended with the lifting of the order this week.
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