MONSTER LUNCH How Lucy Letby & Sara Sharif’s killer stepmum go on ‘dinner dates’ at prison restaurant after forming sick bond
A source gives us a detailed insight into Letby and Batool’s lives on the notorious jail unit, and reveals how the infamous pair have bonded over meals after earning behaviour points
TWO of Britain’s most notorious female killers and have forged a close friendship behind bars – and now go on ‘date night-style’ trips.
Ex-nurse Lucy Letby, 36, and murdered Sara Sharif‘s stepmother Beinash Batool, 32, have cemented their bond at the prison‘s on-site Vita Nova restaurant.
An insider has revealed how the pair – held on Unit 4 of HMP Bronzefield – enjoy coffees, cakes and meals including avocado toast at the eaterie.
The duo, who have also bonded over games of Uno and chess, have to earn behaviour points to visit the restaurant which employs prisoners alongside professional catering staff.
Our source said: “Lucy and Beinash save up and go to Vita Nova together.
“They earn points, called ‘positives’ which you get for good behaviour to be eligible for a visit there.
“They go there together about once a month – almost like a date night-style thing although there is nothing romantic between them.
“It is a really nice restaurant and the staff eat there. You can also have things like Thai green curry, poached eggs on toast and full English breakfasts and there are vegetarian options.”
Giving a detailed insight into life on the notorious jail unit – which also holds aristocrat Constance Marten, 39, and killer mums Sian Hedges, 29, and Emma Tustin, 37 – our source revealed that Letby is being deluged with fan mail and receives two or three cards a day. She is described as a “model prisoner” who has three jobs, while staff are said to “fawn over” her due to her infamy.
Beinash Batool regularly gives Letby a full make-over to boost her spirits, but runaway mum Marten resents the child killer as the pair are vying for her affections.
Our insider, an ex-con recalled to jail over a licence offence, said Letby had also grown close to a male key worker who acts as her mentor.
The source, who rubbed shoulders with the likes of Letby, Batool and Marten during a stint at the privately-run jail near Ashford, which ended recently, said: “Lucy is like a Queen Bee in there and is very close to Beinash.
“They became best friends because nobody would speak to them, so they formed an alliance. They have got each other’s backs and go everywhere together.
“They are cocky because they know they will never be moved from Unit 4 because they can’t be transferred due to security.
“If someone’s case has been high-profile and in the news, they get put in Unit 4 because it is safe and violence is rare.
“It is an enhanced unit, where you get more privileges, and people behave as they don’t want to be moved from it. But Lucy and Beinash know they cannot be transferred because they are too high-profile.”
Letby – convicted of seven murders and eight attempted murders at the Countess of Chester Hospital – spends time working on her appeal but also has jobs on the unit’s library, servery and laundry.
And she is buoyed by fan mail she receives.
The ex-inmate said: “Lucy gets so many cards and letters. It ends up being all from people supporting her, because staff monitor it.
“So if someone writes to Lucy saying they think she is guilty it will not get to her. But if someone sends her a letter saying that they support her, then Lucy will be given that.
“She gets two or three cards a day and puts them all up in her cell. She also boasts about her popularity and how she doesn’t have room for all the fan mail.
“Lucy gets a lot of blank cards but also loads with cats on them. That’s because people have watched the documentaries and seen that she loves her cats.
“Lucy has made her cell very homely. It has a single bed with a wardrobe and shelf for her TV and DvD player and a desk and chair. It also has an ensuite shower and toilet plus she has her own phone.”
A recent Netflix documentary, The Investigation of Lucy Letby, showed her crying and hugging her pet cats while being arrested by police in June 2019.
We told in February how Letby was placed on suicide watch after being mocked by lags over the programme.
Our source explained: “Whenever there are documentaries about her or she is in the news Lucy puts on a ‘pity-party’. She starts crying and asking ‘When will it all stop’? “But you get the impression that she actually likes all the attention.
“Apart from that she is a model prisoner. She gets on well with the staff becuase she is articulate and well-behaved. In fact, a lot of the officers fawn over her.
“Some of the new ones come to meet her and shake hands when they arrive. I think they like to go home and say, ‘I’ve been looking after Lucy Letby’.”
Letby even spends with Batool when she is working, our source said.
“Lucy works in the servery, dishing up breakfast like toast and cereals before closing up the hatch,” the insider explained.
“Then she reopens for lunch when they serve pizzas, spag bol, cottage pie and lasagne. But the food is awful and she barely eats it herself.
“She buys treats from the canteen and likes crisps, Mars and Snickers chocolate bars and Oreo biscuits. She also buys sweets like Frumps, Refresher bars and Haribos and loves fizzy pop particularly Ka drinks.
“Lucy hoards all the stuff she buys from the canteen in her cell and shares stuff with Beinash.
“On Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings, Lucy runs the on-site library. They treat that as Lucy and Beinash’s fiefdom.
“You are allowed three DvDs per week and if you are one minute late at the library Lucy will not give you the DvD. She likes the power. Finally she is a laundry worker.
“And she has made that area like her own office. But can’t really go anywhere else without protection.
“So when she works in the laundry, Lucy is not allowed outside to hang washing without an officer escorting her.” Depsite the perks on offer to cons, our source said Unit 4 was a “foreboding” place.
She added: “Unit 4 has about 75 inmates divided into three sections.
“It is set apart from all the other units. It is foreboding and overwhelming and very security-oriented, with high walls. Although they treat inmates quite well, it is hell being in there and the staff are not great.
“A lot of them are inexperienced and they are so desperate for staff they will hire anyone. Many of the officers don’t even speak English very well.
“There is not that much violence on Unit 4, but there is a lot of bullying and bitchiness.” Amid the misery on the unit, Batool practises her skills as a beautician on her grateful pal Letby.
The source explained: “Lucy has her hair dyed blonde at the salon fairly regularly. And every couple of weeks Beinash gives Lucy a full make-over – what they call an ‘evening look’.
“Beinash does her foundation and make-up with blusher and lip-stick, and also her hair.
“Then Lucy is all glammed up and looks like she is set for night out – then just sits in her cell watching TV. It is all a bit strange but it helps keep her spirits up.”
Letby – whose case is at the centre of a high-profile miscarriage of justice campaign – also has access to a male key-worker.
The ex-con said: “He is an officer aged about 40, and part of his role is to act as a mentor towards prisoners.
“He spends a lot of time with Lucy and is very attentive to her, listening to all her worries and fears. She has a real soft spot for him and he is quite protective towards her.
“He feels for her because she is isolated and also because she is putting a lot of effort into her appeal.” Letby’s barrister, Mark McDonald, has submitted evidence over her case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission which can order retrials.
Our source added: “Lucy is confident about her case and says she was a scapegoat because she was young and a new nurse.
“She thinks her appeal will succeed but it will take about three years. She also says there is another culprit out there – the real killer – but I didn’t find her very convincing.
“However she speaks to Mark McDonald a lot and has video calls with him.”
Another Unit 4 inmate who proclaims her innocence is aristocrat Constance Marten, who is serving 14 years for manslaughter and child cruelty over the death of her daughter, Victoria.
The baby died after Marten and her boyfriend Mark Gordon, 51, went on the run and lived in freezing conditions “off-grid”.
The source said: “Constance is obviously of good pedigree but is very weird.
“She looks down on people and acts as if she should not be in Bronzefield despite what she has done. Constance also claims she is innocent and that it was all the boyfriend’s fault.
“She says she will appeal but doesn’t seem to have anything worked out. She also really does not like Lucy Letby and has moaned that Lucy has got this whole big legal team working for her.
“She is jealous of her and the attention she gets. Constance is also jeaoluos of Lucy’s friendship with Beinash. Beinash is friendly to Constance and they get on, but spends more time with Lucy.
“However she won’t talk to Constance if she is with Lucy; and there is a bit of a battle going on between Lucy and Constance over Beinash’s affections.
“It is a very odd situation and one of the many things that make me glad I am no longer in there.” A spokesperson for Sodexo, which runs Bronzefield, did not comment.
