Consultant Dr Mark Deakin died on 3 July, nine days after being found collapsed in his car the day following his dismissal from Alder Hey Children's Hospital on 23 June. His sacking came after he exchanged inappropriate messages with Lucy Letby, the nurse convicted of murdering babies, which breached patient confidentiality and involved details of a child she attempted to kill. The circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated as "unnatural" at a coroner's inquest, with a full hearing scheduled for February 2027, raising questions about the pressures and relationships surrounding the Letby case.

Dr Deakin, 53, a married father of two, had exchanged more than 1,300 Facebook messages with Letby whilst working at Countess of Chester Hospital. He forwarded confidential emails to her following a 2016 staff meeting about babies who had died or fallen ill under her care, with one message stating "You need to keep this to yourself." A recent inquiry found he had "blurred boundaries" between his professional duty and his desire to support Letby, including arranging observational visits for her at Alder Hey and supporting her grievance claim after she was moved from frontline nursing due to suspicions about infant deaths in her care.