Lucy Letby Offered Friend 'Tips' on How to Get Away with Murder Years Before Guilty Verdicts, Inquiry Hears

The former neonatal nurse is serving 15 life sentences after being convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven more

Lucy Letby , the British neonatal nurse found guilty of killing seven infants and attempting to kill seven others, offered to give a former colleague and friend "tips" on "how to get away with murder," a public inquiry has heard.

The Thirlwall Inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall — set up to examine events at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester, England, where the convicted nurse previously worked — heard on Wednesday, Nov. 6, that Letby had been discussing the legal drama How to Get Away with Murder with union representative Hayley Griffiths when she made the comments, per a WhatsApp exchange seen by PEOPLE.

The messages between Letby and Griffiths are dated March 2017, over a year before Letby was first arrested for her crimes in July 2018. In August 2023, the now-34-year-old was convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others in 2015 and 2016. In July of this year, PEOPLE reported she'd also been convicted of another attempted murder of a newborn girl in a case in which the jury failed to reach a verdict in 2023.

I am so remorseful. As soon as I saw them myself I was upset and I can't begin to imagine ... I can only apologize and say I have learned. I can't go back in time but I have reflected absolutely on it."

"It was nothing more than a conversation. However, I truly and deeply regret having started that conversation ... this is completely unprofessional, poor judgment on my behalf and completely insensitive," Griffiths also told counsel to the inquiry, Rachel Langdale KC, per Sky News . "And for that, I can only apologize from the bottom of my heart."

Related: Is Lucy Letby Actually Innocent? Experts Cast Doubt on Evidence Used to Convict Nurse of Baby Murders

The inquiry was also told about a letter that Letby's parents, John and Susan Letby, sent to trust executives after their daughter submitted a grievance complaint following her removal from the neonatal unit, per the BBC. The grievance was "upheld in her favour" and hospital bosses told consultants to apologize to Letby, the outlet stated.

The parents said in the letter that they believed "certain consultants have a personal grudge against Lucy," The Telegraph reported.

"The overlying question that has kept us awake since the day this all started and no one has come up with an answer is 'Why Lucy?' " the letter included, per the outlet.

The inquiry is expected to last until early 2025, with findings expected to be reported by the fall of next year.