Smiling for the camera just HOURS before killing spree began: Baby murderer Lucy Letby poses with friends on a hen do - a day before she took the life of her first victim 90 minutes into her shift
Pictures show killer nurse Lucy Letby smiling with friends on a hen do a day before she murdered her first tiny victim.
The group, mostly nurses, are seen posing on Lendal Bridge in York, with Letby - then 25 - at the head of the party in a black floral dress and matching black clutch bag.
Wearing badges to mark the occasion, they visited several bars in the city and ended up in Vodka Revolution.
Letby returned to work a day later on June 8, 2015, having agreed to cover for a colleague.
Within 90 minutes of clocking on at the unit, she had murdered a little boy - who can only be identified as Baby A.
Lucy Letby (far right) poses with friends on a hen do in York a day before she murdered a baby. Also in the photo - fourth from right - is Janet Cox, a former colleague who still believes Letby was innocent
Another photo from the weekend shows the group at a railway station. Everyone else pictured was completely oblivious of Letby's crimes
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He had been born 12 weeks earlier weighing 3lbs 12oz and died after Letby injected him with air.
She later told a colleague that the boy 'died very unexpectedly,' adding that: 'Dad was on the floor crying, ''Please don't take our baby away''.'
Twenty-four hours later Letby would be trying to kill the infant's twin sister, Baby B. Months later she carried out sinister Facebook searches for their parents.
Letby was originally found guilty in August of murdering seven children and trying to kill six others, but the jury failed to reach a verdict on the attempted murder of a premature girl known as Baby K. A jury convicted her of this count on Tuesday.
One of Letby's friends who were with her on the hen do was her colleague Janet Cox - who like everyone else who worked on the killer's unit was entirely oblivious to her crimes.
Mrs Cox remains convinced of her innocence, and attended every day of her second trial.
She spoke briefly at the front door of her semi-detached home in Ellesmere Port on the Wirral when approached by MailOnline after the original verdicts.
Asked whether she still believed in her friend's innocence, Mrs Cox replied 'Yes' but refused to elaborate further.
Letby, 34, ranks as Britain's most prolific baby killer in modern times after killing seven babies and attempting to kill a further seven between June 2015 and June 2016.
Cheshire Police are still investigating her for other possible crimes against babies even earlier in her nursing career.
Letby is the most prolific child killer in modern British history
One of Letby's friends who were with her on the hen do was her colleague Janet Cox - who like everyone else who worked on the killer's unit was entirely oblivious to her crimes. They are pictured at another social event
A photo showing Letby during a night out that she shared on her social media
Officers are currently sifting through the medical notes of 4,000 babies at two hospitals where Letby worked between 2012 and 2016 – the Countess of Chester and Liverpool Women's Hospital.
In August, Letby refused to come up from a holding cell to hear him impose no fewer than 14 whole life orders.
Tuesday's conviction – this time for cynically dislodging the breathing tube of an infant so tiny she would have fitted in her open palm – means it is almost a formality that she will receive a 15th whole life term.
Mrs Cox is not the only friend or colleague of Letby who has stood by her.
Dawn Howe, a long-term friend, is among those who refuses to accept the jury's decision that the nurse is a baby killer.
Speaking to the BBC's Panorama programme last summer, Ms Howe, 33, said: 'Unless Lucy turned around and said 'I'm guilty' I will never believe that she's guilty.
'We know she couldn't have done anything that she's accused of, so without a doubt we stand by her.
'I grew up with Lucy and not a single thing that I've ever seen or witnessed of Lucy would let me for a moment believe she is capable of the thing's she's accused of.
'It is the most out-of-character accusation that you could ever put against Lucy.
'Think of your most kind, gentle, soft friend and think that they're being accused of harming babies.'
She also accused police of 'trying to build a case, to find someone culpable to find someone to blame' as she maintained Letby's innocence.
Letby wearing an academic gown on her graduation day
Letby will spend the rest of her life in prison
