As a precious only child, Lucy Letby was showered with love by her parents, Susan and John.

The couple doted on their daughter and celebrated her achievements, sharing photos with the local newspaper celebrating her 21st birthday and graduation from university.

With Letby now exposed as Britain's worst child killer of modern times, attention has understandably been paid to her upbringing.

Yet while many mass murderers suffered an abusive childhood, nothing could be further from the truth for Letby, whose only criticism of her parents was that they were too doting - leaving her feeling 'suffocated'.

Once, the nurse told a doctor friend who was considering moving to New Zealand that she could never do that as it would 'completely devastate' them.

'Find it hard enough being away from me now and it's only 100 miles,' she said.

Lucy Letby aged 17 posing with friends while holding her childhood teddy

Her parents, John and Susan, arriving at Manchester Crown court during the trial

Her parents took out an advert in the local newspaper to celebrate her graduation

One psychologist connected to the case has suggested Letby was a 'covert narcissist'.

Having been at the centre of her parents' universe for so long, she craved the attention she had received since childhood and, once she was living away from them, needed to find it elsewhere.

Other text messages sent throughout her murderous spree reveal how she sought sympathy and admiration from colleagues.

After the death of her first victim - Baby A - in June 2015, a fellow nurse sent her a message which read: 'I hope you are OK, you were brilliant.'

Letby responded: 'It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do... Just a big shock for us all. Hard coming in tonight and seeing the parents.'

Since her arrest, he believes they would have been caught between 'shock, disbelief, maybe even denial, and leading up to the trial, they would have clung on to some semblance of hope that she might get a not guilty [verdict].

'Obviously, that's all come crashing down.'

Letby is seated on a sofa surrounded by friends while playfully sticking her fingers up with a joyous, nonchalant expression on her face following a night out to celebrate her 17th birthday

Looking elated Letby poses next to two friends sporting a huge grin as they press their faces together for the camera

Growing up, Letby was a 'delight' to her parents, neighbours remembered.

Her parents, Susan, 63, and John, 77, were a constant presence during her ten-month trial at Manchester Crown Court and attended every day after relocating from Hereford.

But they were not present for the final verdicts last Friday, and also did not attend yesterday's sentencing hearing where she was given 14 whole life orders.

Mrs Letby broke down in court when the first of the guilty verdicts were returned, crying out: 'You can't be serious. This cannot be right.'

Dr Sohom Das, a consultant forensic psychologist and author of In Two Minds, said the couple would have been 'blindsided' by their daughter's conviction.

In another image she is seated on a bed with three of her pals and is clutching a teddy bear

She had a part-time job at WH Smith in the city, and her parents were immensely proud when she became the first in their family to go to university.

When she attained her honours degree they marked her graduation, in December 2011, with an announcement in their local paper, the Hereford Times.

Alongside a picture of her wearing a mortarboard and clutching her degree certificate, they wrote: 'Letby Lucy BSc Hons in Child Nursing.

'We are so proud of you after all your hard work. Love Mum and Dad.'

A similar announcement, with an accompanying photograph of Letby as a young child, was also placed in the same newspaper to mark her 21st birthday.

She continued to holiday with them, going on the thrice-annual trips to Torquay which the family had enjoyed since her early childhood.

Letby (pictured in a custody photo, left; and while working in hospital, right) went on a year-long killing spree while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital

Like Lucy (pictured as a child), who cowered in her cell yesterday and refused to come to Manchester Crown Court to be sentenced. Mr and Mrs Letby also chose to stay away

DAILY MAIL'S LUCY LETBY DOCUMENTARY 'Killer hiding in plain sight' The Trial of Lucy Letby: The Inside Story Advertisement

John was present when his daughter was arrested for the first time on July 4, 2018.

He had stayed the night after driving her home the day before, following one of the family's holidays to Torquay, and watched as she was led out of the house by police officers.

In court, Letby was close to tears when she said that after her arrest, her father had made her bed.

However, texts the nurse exchanged with colleagues hinted she sometimes felt smothered by her mother and father and guilty about moving away. She explained they missed her and hated her living alone.

She appeared to speak or text them every day and described them as 'suffocating at times'.

In a message to another friend, she wrote: 'My parents worry massively about everything & anything, hate that I live alone etc.

'I feel bad because I know it's really hard for them especially as I'm an only child, and they mean well, just a little suffocating at times and constantly feel guilty.'

Susan sometimes broke into tears in court during the trial and appeared anxious during breaks when her daughter was undergoing particularly tough periods of questioning by the prosecution.