Lucy Letby fanatics at battle that sees useless youngsters mocked and ‘lusting for killer’ claims

EXCLUSIVE: In a strange corner of the internet, those intensely passionate about the innocence or guilt of the infamous convicted infant serial killer Lucy Letby are at each opthers’ throats – and things are getting very, very ugly

Hordes of Lucy Letby obsessives have been tearing chunks out of each other on the internet.

People obsessed with the innocence – or guilt – of the convicted baby killer have been locked in a bitter war fought using burner accounts, parodies and callous remarks about dead loved ones.

The Daily Star has spoken to a number of people on both sides of the feud. Each accuses the other of bullying and each report rivals’ posts and actions on a regular basis to administrators across social media platforms.

The outspoken Letby loyalists, known as NGs (not guilty) who claim that analysis of the evidence leads to irrefutable conclusions that she is the victim of miscarriage of justice. These include mathematicians and people who previously believed the former neonatal nurse was guilty of the murder of seven infants between 2015 and 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

She was sentenced to 15 whole life terms for those crimes, but still debate rages, some of it alleging the British legal system is flawed.

The ‘guilty brigade’ as they have been described by their rivals, are usually termed Gs, for ‘guilties’. They believe in upholding the court’s verdict and regard the other side as conspiracy theorists.

It’s a complex web of groups within groups, bitter personal rivalries and genuine hatred over a convicted child killer who has likely never heard of them – yet despite this, the combatants are devoted to their causes.

The arguments twist and turn, stacks of evidence, circumstantial trains of logic and assumed knowledge piled up on either side. It makes for upsetting reading, the bitterness and hate on show incongruous with the memories of the kids who died.

Online torment

“The sender has told my friend’s friends that I have been sharing illegal pictures of children”.

These were the words of one Letby advocate, who claims to have been subject to smear campaigns targeting their friends and loved ones.

“I’ve just had a message from a friend saying that her friends have received some malicious messages about me,” they added as they talked to us.

Allegations fly in all directions. One person on the guilty side said a victim of these allegations had been known to mock rivals over a suicide in their family.

The groups are largely open to the public, and invites people to comment in its name. It is a battleground where it seems unlikely anyone will ever win.

The comments on posts can be as creative as they are brutal.

One person even quoted an old Irish curse: “May you never prosper. The first drop of water to quench your thirst – may it boil in your bowels.”

Both sides claim the others make burner accounts to circumnavigate bans and, presumably, make their side seem more numerous.

There’s pride at stake too. One person, responding to a leak of information following another person changing sides, said to a former ally: “you brought it public to take me down, says it all about who you are.”

“At one time there were at least four parody accounts or impersonation accounts of me on X,” one person said.

The fire goes in both directions. At points it seems efforts are made simply to outdo one another’s insults and cruelty.

One person told the Star: [one of the people on the rival side told] a woman it was her fault her son committed suicide [and] told me to ‘go look after my kid’ when [they] know my son is dead. Told a man who is a family member of one baby that it was his fault his wife died.”

Various people claim the ‘the police’ have been involved although in no case is it apparent which force is being referred to.

Intellectualising and confusing motivations

Like with so many high profile cases these days, online sleuthing is rife. These sticking points are ultimately what the arguments and debate centre around.

Much of the ‘innocent’ camp has adopted a position that they are grounded in reason, claiming that proper investigation can only lead to one conclusion. The guilty group, largely trust the work of the courts.

“[I’ve] always had serious doubts about the verdicts and have become more and more convinced of her innocence as more facts have come to light,” one told the Star.

The reasons many of the people involved care can be hard to gauge too. One innocence advocate the Star spoke to said they were motivated by the miscarriage of justice.

But motivation has also been a weapon in the hands of faction members.

“I have also received abuse and witnessed abuse from particularly toxic individuals who still believe she is guilty,” on innocent faction member told the Star. “I was recently described by one such person as being a ‘luster’, and a year or so ago I was asked if I was in love with her, whether I was only supporting her innocence due to her being blonde and pretty, and told to find a ‘crush’ who isn’t a ‘baby killer’.”

It’s a battleground whatever you think about Letby, one where no one seems to win and everyone’s a target yet, most amazingly, they all keep coming back for more.

The fight rages on. Who knows at what cost.