A childhood friend of UK killer nurse Lucy Letby has miraculously stood by the 33-year-old, releasing an astonishing statement in support of the murderer.

Letby killed seven newborn babies during a year-long killing spree in 2015 and 2016 while working on the neonatal ward at Chester Hospital in the UK.

She also tried to kill six others, leaving some with lifelong disabilities, during her yearlong campaign of deception that saw her prey on the vulnerabilities of sick newborns and their anxious parents.

Her sick reign of terror was finally uncovered when staff grew suspicious and fearsome following a “significant rise” in the number of babies on the unit dying or suffering sudden “catastrophic” collapses.

One of the senior doctors at the Countess of Chester Hospital told the BBC he had repeatedly tried to raise the alarm about Letby but hospital executives failed to investigate the allegations.

Neonatal nurse Lucy Letby. Photo / Cheshire Constabulary via AP

Dr Stephen Brearley, the lead doctor in the neonatal unit, said the hospital tried to silence doctors who complained about Letby and delayed calling the police.

Now, her childhood friend, Dawn Howe, has released a twisted statement, saying she will never believe that that Letby is a killer.

Howe described the murderous nurse as the “kindest person I have ever known” in an interview with the BBC.

“Unless Lucy turned around and said ‘I’m guilty’, I will never believe that she’s guilty,” she expressed while choosing to speak on behalf of Letby’s friends.

Childhood friend Dawn Howe says Lucy Letby is ‘the kindest person I have ever known’. Photo / BBC

She went on to say there is no way she could have done what she’s “accused of” and that the “accusation” is “out-of-character”.

“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 things 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.”

Letby was accused of deliberately harming the babies in various ways, including by injecting air into their bloodstreams and administering air or milk into their stomachs via nasogastric tubes. She was also accused of poisoning infants by adding insulin to intravenous feeds and interfering with breathing tubes.

After colleagues grew suspicious, police searched her house in 2018 and discovered a chilling cache of evidence.

Letby had scribbled haunting notes in diaries and on Post-It notes, including one that read: “I am evil I did this.”

“I don’t deserve to live,” the note continued. “I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them. I am a horrible person.”

In court senior prosecutor Pascale Jones stated too many parents “returned home to empty baby rooms. Many surviving children live with permanent consequences of her assaults upon their lives”.

Her attacks, Jones said, were “a complete betrayal of the trust placed in her”.

The Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester, England, where Lucy Letby worked. Photo / AP

Families of the victims said they will “forever be grateful” to jurors who since last October had to sit through 145 days of “gruelling” evidence.

In a joint statement read outside court, they also expressed their gratitude to all those who came to give evidence during the trial, which they described as “extremely harrowing and distressing” to listen to.

“To lose a baby is a heart-breaking experience that no parent should ever have to go through, but to lose a baby or to have a baby harmed in these particular circumstances is unimaginable,” they said.

Letby’s motives remain unclear, but the scale of her crimes points to intricate planning.

One father, whose twin boys miraculously survived Letby’s attempts to kill them, explained they will suffer from lifelong medical conditions because of her actions.

“Whatever sentence she gets is not going to be enough.

“It’s going to be justice, but it’s not going to be enough. She took everything — our joy, happiness, everything.”