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Justice for Kathleen Folbigg

New DNA evidence questions the conviction of Australian serial child killer

By Nicole GibsonPublished 4 years ago 6 min read
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For 17 years Kathleen Folbigg has been imprisoned at Silverwater Correctional Centre, New South Wales for the deaths of her 4 children. The evidence that convicted her was circumstantial and relied heavily on the harrowing diary entries of a grieving mother. Kathleen Folbigg has always maintained her innocence. Now genome sequencing of Kathleen and her 2 daughters reveals a genetic mutation that indicates the children died of natural causes.

The Case and Conviction:

On the 2nd February 1989, Kathleen and her husband Craig welcomed their first child, Caleb Gibson Folbigg into the world. Caleb was known to breathe noisily. He was diagnosed by a pediatrician to have a mild case of laryngomalacia (aka floppy airways), a condition in which the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction. On 20 February, Folbigg put Caleb to sleep in a room adjoining the bedroom she shared with her husband. Caleb was restless during the night. Kathleen would check on her son and around 2 am she found him lifeless and not breathing. An ambulance was called but emergency responders were unable to revive little Caleb. His death was attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrom (SIDS).

Caleb & Patrick Folbigg

The following year, Kathleen's second son Patrick was born on 3rd June. Husband Craig remained at home for 3 months to assist his wife and help take care of Patrick. Tragedy struck the family again on the 18th of October. Craig was awoken by Kathleen screaming, Patrick was not breathing and unresponsive. Craig performed CPR while Kathleen called the ambulance. Patrick was resuscitated and survived. Unfortunately, at 8 months old under similar circumstances Patrick passed away. Prior to his death, Patrick had been diagnosed with epilepsy and the Coroner reported his death being due to blocked airways from an epileptic seizure.

Kathleen, Craig and Sarah, early 1993

Kathleen's third child was born 2 years later on the 14th of October 1992. Friends reported Kathleen to be very attentive to Sarah, and would not leave her unattended with anyone who had not had CPR training. Sarah died on the 19th of August 1993. Once again it was Kathleen who found Sarah not breathing and called the ambulance. The coroner documented Sarah's death as SIDS.

Kathleen and Laura Folbigg

On 7th August 1997, Kathleen and Craig welcomed another daughter, Laura into their lives. When Laura had made it to her first birthday the family was ecstatic and thinking the nightmare was over. Sadly this was not to be the case at 19 months Laura was found not breathing, when ambulance officers arrived they were unable to resuscitate little Laura. Prior to her death, Laura had been diagnosed with a cold-like illness, her autopsy report shows that she had Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. It is interesting to note that Myocarditis in children and infants can be caused by a virus, such as the flu reaching the heart.

"One is a tragedy, two is suspicious and three is murder." - Meadow's Law on cot death (SIDS)

After the death of their fourth child, Kathleen and Craig's marriage began to fall apart. Craig found Kathleen's diary in her bedside drawer, filled with ramblings about losing control with the children and her ‘terrible thoughts’. The diary was the "crucial" evidence detectives had been searching for to arrest and charge Kathleen for the murder of her 4 children.

Kathleen's trial lasted 7 weeks. The prosecution accused Kathleen of having smothered all 4 children in an uncontrolled rage. Not one piece of evidence could conclusively prove Kathleen had killed her children. It was all circumstantial but her diary and Kathleen being present at each child's death did paint a very compelling picture against her. The opinion of (now discredited) works of serial child killer expert Sir Roy Meadow on cot death argued: "One is a tragedy, two is suspicious and three is murder.", also weighed heavily over the case.

The jury was unanimous in their decision of guilt for three counts of murder, one count of manslaughter, and one count of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. On 24 October 2003, Kathleen was sentenced to forty years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of thirty years.

Kathleen Folbigg appears on a video link screen at the NSW Coroners Court, Sydney, on April 29, 2019. Credit: AAP

In February 2005, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed an appeal against the convictions, but reduced the length of the sentences to 30 years with a non-parole period of 25 years, on the basis that the original sentences were too severe and discouraged rehabilitation.

In 2019, after medical and legal experts put pressure on the NSW attorney-general, a judicial inquiry was held into her conviction. As part of the inquiry into Kathleen's convictions, Professor Carola Vinuesa and Dr. Todor Arsov, from The Australian National University were independently asked to perform a genomic investigation to determine if a previously undiscovered genetic cause could explain the deaths of the children. The inquiry finished in July 2019, before the evaluation was completed, and the judge concluded that there was no natural cause for the deaths of Caleb, Patrick, Laura, and Sarah.

A Novel Genetic Mutation is Discovered

20th August 2020, new research is to be published in EP Europace, an official journal of the European Society of Cardiology showing that both Kathleen's daughters carried a previously undiscovered genetic mutation, that can cause sudden unexpected death in infants and children. Professor Vinuesa and Dr. Arsov first found the new variant in the gene "CALM2", by genome sequencing Kathleen in 2018. Known as the "G114R" variant in the CALM2 gene, which is predicted to cause lethal cardiac arrhythmias, was found in Kathleen and her daughters - Laura and Sarah.

Scientists in Denmark, who have carried out biochemical experiments, say the results show the mutation, known as the CALM2 G114R variant is “likely pathogenic” and “likely” caused the girls’ deaths

The research paper is authored by world-class experts including Professor Peter Schwartz, a leading cardiologist, and expert in inherited cardiac arrhythmias, and states:

"A fatal arrhythmic event in both Sarah and Laura may have been triggered by their intercurrent infections. Sarah had a croupy cough and had been started on antibiotics, and Laura also had a respiratory infection and was found to have florid myocarditis on autopsy."

The authors say the finding is "a reasonable explanation for a natural cause of their deaths".

The research also includes evidence that both Kathleen's sons also had illnesses that can cause respiratory arrest.

"Caleb died at 19 days. He had a floppy larynx and breathing difficulties and was diagnosed with laryngomalacia. Patrick died at eight months from airway obstruction in turn due to epileptic fits." - Professor Vinuesa, ANU

Professor Vinuesa has recently found that both boys carried another rare mutation known to cause early-onset lethal epilepsy. These genetic findings relating to all the Folbigg children were discovered by a team of 27 scientists from Australia, Denmark, Italy, Canada, the United States, and France, and have also been peer-reviewed.

Kathleen's legal team will be filing for a new hearing which will review the findings of made at the last inquiry. Her lawyers are expected to argue that the fresh genetic evidence raises further reasonable doubt about her convictions for murdering her children, and strengthens the argument for her case to be referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal.

While reviewing and researching this case I find it difficult to understand how Kathleen could be convicted with no clear evidence of her killing her children. Now science has backed up Kathleen's long-standing position that she is innocent. A fair judicial system would acknowledge this and look again at the case on the basis of the new evidence.

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About the Creator

Nicole Gibson

Running on coffee and true crime.

I am passionate about self-development and personal growth. I find immense fulfillment in the continuous journey of learning, honing new skills, and embracing personal evolution.

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