EXCLUSIVE: Lucy Letby’s parents may never return to family home where killer grew up and her mother is ‘determined’ to move 250 miles away to be close to prison where her daughter will be locked up until she dies

• Friends believe the couple are likely to move closer to HMP Low Newton prison

Lucy Letby’s devoted parents may never return to the family home where she grew up, neighbours have told MailOnline.

Friends believe the couple, who have turned into virtual recluses since their daughter’s arrest in 2018, are likely to move away from Hereford, and closer to where she is likely to spend her whole-life prison term: HMP Low Newton near Durham, more than 250 miles away.

The neat, three-bedroomed £230,000 inter-war semi was where only child Letby was arrested for the final time in 2018, as her distraught mother wailed at the officers: ‘I did it, take me instead!’ in a desperate bid to protect her daughter.

Letby’s parents, retired retail boss John and bookkeeper Susan, were a constant presence during her ten-month trial at Manchester Crown Court and attended every day after relocating from Hereford.

With the nurse now exposed as Britain’s worst child killer of modern times, attention has understandably been paid to her upbringing. 

Lucy Letby’s devoted parents may never return to the family home where she grew up, neighbours have told MailOnline. Pictured: Lucy Letby in her custody photo

The neat, three-bedroomed £230,000 inter-war semi (pictured) was where only child Letby was arrested for the final time in 2018

Friends believe the couple, who have turned into virtual recluses since their daughter’s arrest in 2018, are likely to move away from Hereford, and closer to where she is likely to spend her whole-life prison term: HMP Low Newton near Durham, more than 250 miles away. Letby is pictured during her arrest

A neighbour told MailOnline that they have ‘hardly seen’ Mr and Mrs Letby since their daughter’s arrest. Pictured: Lucy Letby’s bedroom

A neighbour told MailOnline that they have ‘hardly seen’ Mr and Mrs Letby since their daughter’s arrest.

‘At first, they spent all their time at the back of the house and never even answered the phone,’ the local alleged.

‘Then when the trial began last year, they rented a flat in Manchester so that they could attend the proceedings.

‘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, who also asked not to be identified, said they felt that Mr Letby, 77, might prefer to stay at their home near the centre of Hereford, but they understood that Mrs Letby was determined they would base themselves closer to where their daughter was imprisoned.

‘She’s their life really, and they’re convinced of her innocence, but eventually they may have to let her go,’ said the neighbour.

The couple appeared in court for much of Letby’s trial but were not present for the final verdicts last Friday, and also did not attend the sentencing hearing where she was given 14 whole-life orders.

Mrs Letby broke down in court when the first of the guilty verdicts were returned, crying out: ‘You can’t be serious. This cannot be right.’

Lucy Letby aged 17 posing with friends while holding her childhood teddy 

Her parents, John and Susan, arriving at Manchester Crown court during the trial 

Her parents took out an advert in the local newspaper to celebrate her graduation 

With Letby now exposed as a killer, many have raised questions about the only child’s upbringing. 

Yet while many mass murderers suffered an abusive childhood, nothing could be further from the truth for Letby, whose only criticism of her parents was that they were too doting – leaving her feeling ‘suffocated’.

Once, the nurse told a doctor friend who was considering moving to New Zealand that she could never do that as it would ‘completely devastate’ them.

‘Find it hard enough being away from me now and it’s only 100 miles,’ she said.

One psychologist connected to the case has suggested Letby was a ‘covert narcissist’.

Having been at the centre of her parents’ universe for so long, she craved the attention she had received since childhood and, once she was living away from them, needed to find it elsewhere.

Other text messages sent throughout her murderous spree reveal how she sought sympathy and admiration from colleagues.

After the death of her first victim – Baby A – in June 2015, a fellow nurse sent her a message which read: ‘I hope you are OK, you were brilliant.’ 

Letby responded: ‘It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do… Just a big shock for us all. Hard coming in tonight and seeing the parents.’

Since her arrest, he believes they would have been caught between ‘shock, disbelief, maybe even denial, and leading up to the trial, they would have clung on to some semblance of hope that she might get a not guilty [verdict]. 

‘Obviously, that’s all come crashing down.’ 

Letby is seated on a sofa surrounded by friends while playfully sticking her fingers up with a joyous, nonchalant expression on her face following a night out to celebrate her 17th birthday

Looking elated Letby poses next to two friends sporting a huge grin as they press their faces together for the camera

DAILY MAIL’S LUCY LETBY DOCUMENTARY ‘Killer hiding in plain sight’ The Trial of Lucy Letby: The Inside Story 

Growing up, Letby was a ‘delight’ to her parents, neighbours remembered. 

Her parents, Susan, 63, and John, 77, were a constant presence during her ten-month trial at Manchester Crown Court and attended every day after relocating from Hereford.

But they were not present for the final verdicts last Friday, and also did not attend yesterday’s sentencing hearing where she was given 14 whole life orders. 

Mrs Letby broke down in court when the first of the guilty verdicts were returned, crying out: ‘You can’t be serious. This cannot be right.’

Dr Sohom Das, a consultant forensic psychologist and author of In Two Minds, said the couple would have been ‘blindsided’ by their daughter’s conviction. 

She had a part-time job at WH Smith in the city, and her parents were immensely proud when she became the first in their family to go to university.

When she attained her honours degree they marked her graduation, in December 2011, with an announcement in their local paper, the Hereford Times.

Alongside a picture of her wearing a mortarboard and clutching her degree certificate, they wrote: ‘Letby Lucy BSc Hons in Child Nursing. 

In another image she is seated on a bed with three of her pals and is clutching a teddy bear

Letby (pictured while working in hospital) went on a year-long killing spree while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital

‘We are so proud of you after all your hard work. Love Mum and Dad.’

A similar announcement, with an accompanying photograph of Letby as a young child, was also placed in the same newspaper to mark her 21st birthday.

She continued to holiday with them, going on the thrice-annual trips to Torquay which the family had enjoyed since her early childhood. 

Mr Letby was present when his daughter was arrested for the first time on July 4, 2018.

He had stayed the night after driving her home the day before, following one of the family’s holidays to Torquay, and watched as she was led out of the house by police officers.

In court, Letby was close to tears when she said that after her arrest, her father had made her bed.  

However, texts the nurse exchanged with colleagues hinted she sometimes felt smothered by her mother and father and guilty about moving away. She explained they missed her and hated her living alone.

Like Lucy (pictured as a child), who cowered in her cell yesterday and refused to come to Manchester Crown Court to be sentenced. Mr and Mrs Letby also chose to stay away

She appeared to speak or text them every day and described them as ‘suffocating at times’.

In a message to another friend, she wrote: ‘My parents worry massively about everything & anything, hate that I live alone etc.

‘I feel bad because I know it’s really hard for them especially as I’m an only child, and they mean well, just a little suffocating at times and constantly feel guilty.’

Mrs Letby sometimes broke into tears in court during the trial and appeared anxious during breaks when her daughter was undergoing particularly tough periods of questioning by the prosecution.

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