An inquest into the death of a doctor labelled in court as the “boyfriend” of child serial killer nurse Lucy Letby has been scheduled for next February.
Dr Mark Deakin, 53, from Winsford, Cheshire, was found collapsed in his car on 24 June and died in hospital nine days later on 3 July.
Dr Deakin was reportedly dismissed for gross misconduct on 23 June and was later found in his car at a retail park about 20 miles from his home.
On Wednesday, the inquest for the Torquay-born consultant paediatrician was formally opened by HM Senior Coroner for Cheshire Jacqueline Devonish
At a brief hearing, coroner’s officer Amanda Edgar told Cheshire Coroner’s Court: “The circumstances of Dr Deakin’s death are that Cheshire Police received a call regarding concern for Dr Deakin on June 23.
“Subsequent inquires resulted him in being found in his vehicle suffering from ill health on June 24. Dr Deakin was taken to Whiston Hospital where he received treatment and sadly died on July 3.
“The reason for the inquest is that there is reason to suspect that the circumstances of Dr Deakin’s death are unnatural.”
Ms Devonish adjourned the hearing in Warrington for a pre-inquest review to take place on 22 January – with the full inquest set to take place on 23 and 24 February.
Dr Deakin had been granted lifetime anonymity when he gave evidence at the trial of Letby, 36, who was later convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
The reporting restrictions were lifted earlier this month following his death.
During her trial at Manchester Crown Court, Letby broke down in tears and tried to leave the dock when the married father-of-two entered the witness box and answered questions from behind a screen.
The prosecution suggested it was because she did not like hearing her “boyfriend” give evidence, to which she replied: “That’s unfair.”
His name appeared repeatedly on scrawled notes found at Letby’s home address after her arrest, including several references to “love was all we needed”.
Letby told the jury that the pair would meet outside work but denied they were in a relationship and maintained Dr Deakin was merely a “trusted friend”.
Dr Deakin was never asked at the trial – or at the Thirlwall Inquiry where he gave evidence – if he had been in a relationship with Letby.
He told the public inquiry into how Letby was able to commit her crimes that she had “misled and maybe manipulated” him into giving her information about her victims.
The then-registrar swapped 1,355 Facebook messages with Letby in a three-month period when they worked together between June 2016 and September 2016.
Dr Deakin went on to support her grievance case against her removal from the neonatal unit to non-patient duties from July 2016, and also set up a number of “observational visits” to Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital the following year when he worked there as a locum consultant, the inquiry heard.
A mother of one of Letby’s attempted murder victims, Child N, later filed a complaint against Dr Deakin with Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, where he permanently moved to from the Countess of Chester, and alleged he had shared confidential information about her son with Letby.
Alder Hey also went on to investigate him over what he knew about Letby at the time of her visits to their hospital.
Letby, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life terms for the crimes she committed at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.
Read MoreHere’s what the Thirlwall Inquiry really means for Lucy Letby and her supporters
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