Lucy Letby’s ‘boyfriend’ who died day after being sacked is pictured for first time
The doctor described by the prosecution in Lucy Letby’s trial as her ‘boyfriend’ has been identified for the first time since he died the day after he was fired from his job
Consultant Mark Deakin(Image: Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health/Youtube)
The married doctor who was said to be Lucy Letby’s “boyfriend” during her murder trial has been named for the first time. Consultant Mark Deakin, 53, was found collapsed in his car the day after he was dismissed from Liverpool’s Alder Children’s Hospital in June.
He was admitted to intensive care but died nine days later. The married father-of-two was granted anonymity during Letby’s trial but can now be identified after reporting restrictions were lifted due to his death.
Dr Deakin was brought before a disciplinary hearing in June over a series of inappropriate messages he exchanged with the former neo-natal nurse, 36, while they worked together at Countess of Chester Hospital. Details of the care given to a premature boy with haemophilia, known as Baby N, were included in the texts.
Letby was convicted of trying to kill him the day after he was born in June 2016. Dr Deakin also organised as many as six “observational visits” for Letby at Alder Hey, where he went to work a year later.
The pair exchanged thousands of messages(Image: Countess of Chester Hospital)
The consultant is said to have supported Letby’s grievance claim against the Countess when she was moved from frontline care to an office role after suspicions emerged about babies dying on her ward. At trial, Letby denied she was romantically involved with Dr Deakin and instead insisted they were “best friends”.
Throughout the court proceedings, prosecutors branded him Letby’s “boyfriend” and maintained the nurse was obsessed with him as they cited the 1,300 Facebook messages they exchanged in three months of 2016.
They contended she would engineer “crisis situations” by harming infants, knowing he would be amongst the doctors summoned to respond. It also emerged that the pair embarked on day trips to London and arranged walks and meals together. Letby rejected any romantic connection and insisted they were merely close friends.
Letby has denied killing the babies(Image: Cheshire Constabulary/AFP via Ge)
During her court case, it was revealed she referred to the doctor as “sweetie” in messages, and she was observed crying when he arrived at Manchester Crown Court to testify.
The Thirwall Inquiry in 2024 determined that the doctor had been “misled” and “maybe manipulated” by Letby, and he claimed he had been deceived into providing her with information about babies she had assaulted.
Letby is currently serving a whole-life term at Bronzefield Prison in Surrey. She continues to assert her innocence despite being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others.
