Inquest into death of Lucy Letby's 'boyfriend' opens

There is reason to suspect the death of a man labelled in court as the "boyfriend" of serial killer Lucy Letby was "unnatural", the opening of an inquest has heard.

Dr Mark Deakin, 53, from Winsford, Cheshire, was found collapsed in his car on 24 June and was rushed to hospital where he died nine days later.

Deakin worked alongside Letby, now 36, at the Countess of Chester Hospital during the period in which she murdered seven babies and attempted to murder seven others in 2015 and 2016.

Senior Coroner for Cheshire Jacqueline Devonish scheduled a full inquest for next February.

Coroner's officer Amanda Edgar said an inquest was being held "due to there being reason to suspect that the circumstances of Dr Deakin's death are unnatural".

On 23 June, Cheshire Police received a call raising concerns for Deakin, who is orginally from Torquay.

He was found in ill-health in his car the next day and was taken to hospital, "where he sadly died on 3 July", Edgar told the inquest.

The consultant paediatrician had been granted lifetime anonymity when he gave evidence at the trial of Letby, who is now serving 15 whole-life terms, but reporting restrictions were lifted earlier this month following his death.

During her trial at Manchester Crown Court, Letby broke down in tears and tried to leave the dock when the married father-of-two entered the witness box and answered questions from behind a screen.

His name appeared repeatedly on scrawled notes found at Letby's home address after her arrest, including several references to "love was all we needed".

However, Deakin was never asked at the trial – or at the Thirlwall Inquiry where he also gave evidence – if he had been in an relationship with Letby.

He told the public inquiry into how Letby was able to commit her crimes that she had "misled and maybe manipulated" him into giving her information about her victims.

The then-registrar exchanged 1,355 Facebook messages with Letby in a three-month period when they worked together between June and September 2016.

Alder Hey also went on to investigate him over what he knew about Letby at the time of her visits to their hospital.

Deakin was reportedly dismissed for gross misconduct on 23 June and was later found in his car at a retail park about 20 miles from his home.

Devonish adjourned the hearing in Warrington for a pre-inquest review to take place on 22 January,

The full inquest is scheduled for 23 and 24 February.

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