New Netflix documentary about 'the UK's most prolific child murderer' will drop in February
The documentary will include "never-before-seen footage"
Netflix has just announced a new true crime documentary for February 2026, and it’ll follow one of Britain’s most notorious cases of the 21st century.
The streamer has produced its fair share of docs about some of the UK’s most harrowing crimes. In 2023, Who Killed Lin and Megan? took a closer look at 1996’s Chillenden murders, and there was also last year’s Fred and Rose West mini-series.
Netflix kicked off its 2026 slate with Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart. The feature-length doc (which is number one on Netflix right now) unpacks Smart’s nine-month ordeal and what happened to her abductors, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee.
In just under two weeks, true crime obsessives will be able to dive into one of the past decade’s most sobering stories.
Netflix announces The Investigation of Lucy Letby documentary
The Investigation of Lucy Letby, a new feature-length documentary coming to Netflix, will provide the “most comprehensive look” at the case so far. It will be released on February 4, 2026.
According to Netflix, the doc will include “new materials and testimony from the British police who investigated the case and never-before-seen footage of Letby during her arrest and questioning”.
Also, for the first time, a mother of one of Letby’s victims will also talk about her involvement in the trial.
The 90-minute film is directed by Dominic Sivyer (who made Rebel Nun).
What did Lucy Letby do?
Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse who worked in a Chester hospital, was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of seven infants and the attempted murder of seven other babies.
Letby’s infant victims suffered in various ways. Eight cases (seven murders, one attempted murder) involved a deliberate injection of air into their bloodstream, causing fatal air embolisms (when air blocks someone’s blood flow).
She also poisoned babies with insulin (causing dangerously high heart rates and low blood sugars) and overfed others with milk.
Letby has denied trying to murder or harm any baby in her care, but the Crown Prosecution Service said her actions were that of a “cold-blooded, calculated killer”.
During her sentencing (which the 36-year-old didn’t attend), Mr Justice Goss told her: “You acted in a way that was completely contrary to the normal human instincts of nurturing and caring for babies and in gross breach of the trust that all citizens place in those who work in the medical and caring professions.”
Letby is serving a life sentence with a whole life order, the most severe sentence in English law.
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