Australia: Mother convicted of killing her children pardoned

An Australian woman who spent 20 years in detention for killing her four children was pardoned and released on Monday following an investigation questioning her guilt.

Kathleen Folbigg had been dubbed "Australia's worst serial killer" after being convicted in 2003 of the murder of her three children and the manslaughter of the fourth. The case had been highly publicized. According to the prosecutor's office, his children, aged between nine weeks and three years, were suffocated to death by Kathleen Folbigg, 55, who has always rejected these accusations by saying that each of their deaths was linked to a natural cause.

In 2021, dozens of Australian and overseas scientists signed a petition for Folbigg's release, arguing that new forensic evidence suggested the unexplained deaths were linked to rare genetic mutations or birth defects. New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley announced Monday that Folbigg was pardoned after a year-long inquest that established "reasonable doubt" about the cause of the deaths. She was released Monday morning from Grafton prison, about a six-hour drive north of Sydney.

Neurological pathology

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This is an important moment for justice in this state," said Sue Higginson, a Green Party member who championed her cause. "We have received confirmation that Ms Folbigg was released this morning and ... that she is now out of prison."

In the absence of strong forensic evidence, prosecutors had argued that it was extremely unlikely that four children could have died suddenly without explanation. But retired Judge Tom Bathurst, who led the inquiry, said subsequent investigations revealed medical causes that could explain three of those deaths.

According to Bathurst, Sarah and Laura Folbigg had a rare genetic mutation and Folbigg certainly had an "underlying neurological condition." Given these factors, the magistrate ruled Caleb Folbigg's death non-suspicious. He added that he could not accept that "Mrs. Folbigg was anything other than a caring mother to her children." The Australian Academy of Science, which helped open the investigation, said it was relieved that justice had been done to Kathleen Folbigg.