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‘Grotesque’: Anger at ‘creepy’ detail in new Lucy Letby doco

Netflix released The Investigation of Lucy Letby on February 4, a feature-length doco that looks at the attention surrounding the former neonatal nurse’s crimes after she was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill several more in a year-long reign of terror while working at Countess of Chester Hospital in the northern English city of Chester.

It also analyses the doubt that has been cast over her conviction in the years since.

Letby, 36, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders for the killing spree, which occurred between 2015 and 2016, following a years-long police investigation into the sudden rise of baby deaths on the hospital’s unit, and a ten-month trial that concluded in August 2023.

But while the case continues to draw attention and scrutiny online — with Letby’s parents blasting the doco as a “complete invasion of privacy” – it’s not the shocking details of the crimes that has sparked criticism.

The new 90-minute documentary about Lucy Letby’s crimes has copped backlash for featuring scenes viewers deemed ‘unsettling’ and ‘creepy’. Picture: Netflix

Hordes of viewers have lashed out at the documentary’s use of “digitally anonymised” interviewees in the film.

One is the mother of one of Letby’s young victims, who appears under the pseudonym Sarah, while the other is a university pal of the disgraced nurse known as Maisie.

While the emotional testimonies the women give are real, a disclaimer that appeared during the opening credits reveals their “names, appearances, and voices have been altered” to remove any personally identifiable information.

Meaning the women who appear on screen, who are showing classic characteristics of people experiencing an array of emotions, including crying, exasperation and distress, are entirely created using hi-tech artificial intelligence (AI) software.

Netflix released The Investigation of Lucy Letby on February 4, a feature-length doco that looks at the attention surrounding the former neonatal nurse’s crimes after she was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill several more in a year-long reign of terror while working at Countess of Chester Hospital in the northern English city of Chester.

It also analyses the doubt that has been cast over her conviction in the years since.

Letby, 36, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders for the killing spree, which occurred between 2015 and 2016, following a years-long police investigation into the sudden rise of baby deaths on the hospital’s unit, and a ten-month trial that concluded in August 2023.

But while the case continues to draw attention and scrutiny online — with Letby’s parents blasting the doco as a “complete invasion of privacy” – it’s not the shocking details of the crimes that has sparked criticism.

The new 90-minute documentary about Lucy Letby’s crimes has copped backlash for featuring scenes viewers deemed ‘unsettling’ and ‘creepy’. Picture: Netflix

Hordes of viewers have lashed out at the documentary’s use of “digitally anonymised” interviewees in the film.

One is the mother of one of Letby’s young victims, who appears under the pseudonym Sarah, while the other is a university pal of the disgraced nurse known as Maisie.

While the emotional testimonies the women give are real, a disclaimer that appeared during the opening credits reveals their “names, appearances, and voices have been altered” to remove any personally identifiable information.

Meaning the women who appear on screen, who are showing classic characteristics of people experiencing an array of emotions, including crying, exasperation and distress, are entirely created using hi-tech artificial intelligence (AI) software.

A mother of a victim, called Sarah in the Netflix doco, was completely AI. Picture: Netflix

But perhaps even more chillingly, the documentary includes past images of Letby that have been digitally altered to depict the early stages of her friendship with Maisie.

Sarah is also seen handling objects which belonged to her late daughter, referred to as Zoe, in scenes some have branded “unsettling” and “creepy”.

“Whether you think Lucy Letby is innocent or guilty after watching the documentary, we can all agree that the terrible use of AI needs to be stopped immediately,” wrote one on X.

“This new Netflix true crime doco, the Investigation of Lucy Letby, has an AI person retelling this real person’s story of when their newborn was killed. WTF are we even doing anymore?? Hire a re-enactment actress or just show a pic of the person on screen like?? This is so foul,” agreed another.

As one noted: “The #AI altering of witness videos in the #LucyLetby Netflix documentary is so distracting and weird.”

“This digital anonymising on the Netflix Lucy Letby doc is incredibly unsettling,” declared someone else.

“I was definitely creeped out by the AI people retelling real people’s stories. Why not hire an actress or just don’t show their faces? It was bizarre,” mused one more.

While someone else said: “The manipulated photos of Lucy and a computer generated image felt particularly grotesque. This was an abysmal judgement call by the producers.”

One of the main reasons the use of “digitally anonymised” interviewees has sat so uncomfortably with viewers is down to the extremely sensitive subject matter of the doco.

At one stage, Sarah describes her lengthy labour and C-section, before Zoe was taken to intensive care where she was responding “very well” to treatment, before going on to explain how the newborn suddenly collapsed and died during the night.

Letby was at trial found to have injected air into her bloodstream.

The ‘digitally anonymised’ interviewees were seen showing many emotions – including crying. Picture: Netflix

Some felt it was ‘creepy’ and ‘unsettling’. Picture: Netflix

“It took me so far out of the documentary. Feels disingenuous to the subject matter,” explained one on a Reddit thread discussing the topic.

“I HATE IT! Feels like I’m watching a cartoon character for something that’s supposed to be deeply emotional. I actually liked the dark figures with the altered voices. It brought a seriousness to the topic. Wtf is this,” wrote another.

Others also shared fears it would “become the norm” within the industry, but urged TV producers to reconsider, especially when it comes to real-life events.

“It needs to be banned,” scoffed one.

“This isn’t right,” raged another.

One of the ‘never-before-seen’ videos of Letby showing her in bed as she’s arrested by police. Picture: Netflix

Letby, now 36, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill several more. Picture: Supplied

The documentary also features “never-before-seen” footage of Letby during her multiple arrests, as well as interviews with senior detectives at Cheshire Police, who described the investigation as a “once-in-a-generation type case”.

In a trailer released ahead of the doco, viewers were asked: “Did this unassuming nurse really kill babies in her care?”

One person who believes the answer is “no” is Letby’s barrister, Mark McDonald, who has submitted an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, asking for a fresh appeal against her conviction.

McDonald – who has publicly claimed Letby suffered “the biggest miscarriage of justice in the criminal justice history of the United Kingdom” – appears in the 90-minute doco.