Beaming Lucy Letby pictured dancing at wedding while out on bail for killing babies

A childhood friend of Lucy Letby has revealed photos of the convicted baby murderer at her wedding - taken while she was out on police bail.

Letby was initially apprehended in July 2018, suspected of the murder of eight infants. She faced official charges in November 2020 and was subsequently convicted in two separate trials for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others. Dawn Howe, who attended Aylestone Secondary School in Hereford with Letby, unearthed a collection of photographs during the new ITV documentary Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt?

Some of the images depict Letby grinning and dancing at Dawn's wedding at the same time Cheshire Police were investigating whether the neonatal nurse from Countess of Chester Hospital was potentially the UK's most prolific child murderer.

In the documentary, Dawn remarked: "Definitely got some holiday snaps, birthdays, holidays I've forgotten we even had. The wedding photos are definitely my favourite."

With a laugh, she continued: "There is Lucy at my wedding. I am just so glad she could be there because it was while she was on bail, she had to get special permission to be allowed to come from the police."

One shocking photo captures Letby, clad in a red blouse and grey skirt, smiling broadly as others around her applaud on the dance floor.

Another snapshot features a newlywed Dawn passing by Letby, who joyously tosses confetti into the air.

Dawn and Lucy's friendship dates back to their teenage years, and looking back at the wedding photos, Dawn remarked: "Shortly after this she was held in custody so... I don't think Lucy has seen these."

Reflecting on her reaction to her friend's arrest before her wedding, she shared: "I watched it all unfold every step of the way. I just couldn't believe it. It was beyond belief that this could be happening."

Dawn appears again later in the show, driving to Letby's old school where they spent much of their youth.

She noted that out of their circle, Letby was the only one with a definite career goal, aspiring during her A-levels to "be a nurse and deal with really poorly babies".

On camera, Dawn commented: "We were here and then university and then a few years after university is when she is supposed to have gone off on this killing spree."

Dawn was at work when the news of Letby's conviction broke in August 2023, expressing her shock as being "dumbfounded" upon hearing the verdict.

Her first thought was about what would happen next, recalling: "She can't just spend the rest of her life in prison."

Letby faced two unsuccessful appeals against her convictions last year at the Court of Appeals. Her defence team, headed by barrister Mark McDonald, also presented new evidence from an international panel of experts to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in April, seeking to overturn her convictions.

Dawn stood by Letby during the trial and remains supportive, yet she spoke of feeling guilty for being free while her friend endures 15 whole-life sentences.

She said: "I am living a life Lucy should be living beside me in parallel. We should both be having families and we both bought our houses and we were looking forward to the next chapter of our lives and then all this happened.

"It is just... there is so much guilt that I am sort of living a life that Lucy should also be living."

Cheshire Police were contacted regarding claims made in this story but they chose not to comment.

Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? will air on ITV1 at 10.20pm on Sunday August 3.