LUCY LETBY’S “MYSTERY DOCTOR” FINALLY NAMED — THE MAN AT THE CENTER OF A KEY PART OF HER STORY

HE WAS ONCE KEPT ANONYMOUS DURING LUCY LETBY’S TRIAL. NOW, MONTHS AFTER HIS DEATH, THE DOCTOR WHO HAD BEEN DESCRIBED AS HER “CRUSH” CAN FINALLY BE NAMED.

For years, his identity was protected.

Dr Mark Deakin was the married father-of-two who became a significant figure in the evidence surrounding convicted nurse Lucy Letby — but during her trial, the public was not allowed to know his name.

That changed this month.

Following his death earlier this year, reporting restrictions preventing him from being identified were lifted, revealing the identity of the consultant paediatrician whose relationship with Letby became a major focus of the evidence against her.

And the story behind their connection is now coming back into the spotlight.

THE DOCTOR LETBY CALLED “SWEETIE”

Deakin worked alongside Letby at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

During her trial, prosecutors presented evidence of numerous messages exchanged between the pair and suggested that Letby had developed a “crush” on him.

One fellow nurse had reportedly teased Letby about flirting with the doctor.

Letby referred to Deakin as “sweetie” in messages, while notes later recovered from her home contained references to love and relationships.

When Deakin appeared as a witness during the trial, Letby became visibly emotional and attempted to leave the dock.

But Letby denied that the pair had been romantically involved.

She described him as a trusted friend and rejected suggestions that their relationship was anything more.

1,355 MESSAGES IN JUST THREE MONTHS

The extent of their communication became one of the most striking details.

The public inquiry into the events surrounding Letby’s crimes heard that Deakin exchanged 1,355 Facebook messages with her over roughly three months in 2016.

That communication took place around the same period in which Letby was working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The inquiry later examined whether Letby had used her relationship with Deakin to obtain information about babies under her care.

In one exchange concerning Child N, an infant Letby was convicted of attempting to murder, she asked Deakin about the child’s condition and whether she had done anything wrong.

He reassured her that she would have provided the best care possible.

The inquiry later heard that Deakin had been misled or manipulated by Letby, according to his own evidence.

HE ALSO HELPED HER AFTER SHE LEFT THE UNIT

The relationship did not end when Letby’s position on the neonatal unit changed.

Deakin supported her grievance after she was removed from the unit and placed on non-patient duties.

He also arranged observational visits for Letby at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital after he began working there as a locum consultant.

The inquiry later examined what Deakin knew about Letby’s conduct and whether information concerning patients had been improperly shared.

A complaint was also made by the mother of Child N concerning information allegedly shared with Letby.

DEAKIN’S FINAL YEARS

Deakin later became permanently based at Alder Hey.

According to ITV, he was dismissed for gross misconduct in June 2026.

Just days later, he was reportedly found collapsed inside his car at a retail park in Cheshire.

He was taken to hospital but died on July 3.

His death has been referred to the Cheshire coroner.

His death also brought an end to the legal restrictions that had protected his identity.

That is why the doctor whose name had remained hidden throughout much of Letby’s legal saga can now finally be identified.

LETBY STILL FIGHTS TO OVERTURN HER CONVICTIONS

Meanwhile, Lucy Letby continues to maintain her innocence.

She is serving 15 whole-life orders after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.

Her attempts to appeal her convictions were rejected in 2024.

However, the Criminal Cases Review Commission is considering material submitted on her behalf by an international group of medical experts who argue that some of the babies’ collapses could have resulted from natural causes or inadequate medical care.

The commission has not announced that her convictions have been overturned.

For now, the case remains one of the most closely watched medical and criminal investigations in modern British history.

And with Dr Mark Deakin’s identity finally revealed, another previously hidden chapter of the Lucy Letby story has come into public view.