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Thread: Kathleen Folbigg Was Convicted In 2003 Of Murdering Her 4 Babies Over 10 Yrs. Some Medical Experts Now Argue She Is Innocent

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    Kathleen Folbigg Was Convicted In 2003 Of Murdering Her 4 Babies Over 10 Yrs. Some Medical Experts Now Argue She Is Innocent

    I meant to post a thread for this years ago. It's getting coverage again at the moment so here it is :


    http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-0...-death/9906008

    Australia's 'most hated woman' Kathleen Folbigg speaks for first time

    Convicted of killing her four children, Australia's worst female serial killer, Kathleen Folbigg, speaks for the first time, as her legal team fights for a judicial review of her case. A fresh forensic opinion argues natural causes are a plausible explanation for their deaths.

    Exclusive by Australian Story

    Updated 43 minutes ago

    VIDEO 0:45 LISTEN TO THE PHONE CALL: 15 years on, Kathleen Folbigg speaks about how "overwhelmed" she felt at her guilty verdict.
    ABC NEWS


    Almost every day about 9.30am, Tracy Chapman's phone rings. "Kath" is the name that flashes up on the screen but before either woman can speak, a robotic American voice interjects.

    "You are about to receive a phone call from an inmate at Cessnock Correctional Centre. Your conversation will be recorded and may be monitored. If you do not wish to receive this call, please hang up now."

    Tracy Chapman never hangs up. "Good morning bub, how are you?" she says to her friend, convicted serial killer Kathleen Folbigg.

    Since May 2003 when a New South Wales Supreme Court jury found Folbigg guilty of the murder of three of her infant children and the manslaughter of another, their conversation mostly has been banal ? chitchat about Folbigg's daily routines, about the laundry or cleaning or other inmates.



    But for the past three years, their conversations have increasingly focused on Folbigg's frustrations about the NSW Government's delay in considering her lawyers' petition for a judicial review of her case.

    The petition, which was lodged with the NSW Governor in 2015, includes a comprehensive new report from Professor Stephen Cordner, one of Australia's pre-eminent forensic pathologists. It casts doubt on the forensic evidence that formed a major plank of the prosecution case in the trial and which, ultimately, contributed to Folbigg's conviction.

    In phone calls recorded by Australian Story, Folbigg speaks publicly for the first time about her case and, in the process, gives her explanation for the incriminating diary entries that were a crucial part of the prosecution argument.

    "You've got to understand that those diaries are written from a point of me always blaming myself," Folbigg says in one phone call. "I blamed myself for everything. It's just I took so much of the responsibility, because that's, as mothers, what you do."


    Kathleen Folbigg was convicted of killing her four children, including Laura (pictured).
    SUPPLIED



    Patrick, Laura, Caleb and Sarah Folbigg
    (Clockwise from top left) Patrick, Laura, Caleb and Sarah Folbigg, all died before they were two years old. The youngest, Caleb died at just 19 days.
    ABC NEWS



    In 2003, Folbigg was tried and convicted of the murder of her infant children Patrick, Sarah and Laura, and the manslaughter of Caleb. It was a high-profile trial that shocked the nation. She was sentenced to 40 years in jail, which was later reduced to 30 years and she is now midway through her sentence.

    "I often described it, especially when I was going through the trial, as like I was just hanging onto a cliff by one finger," Folbigg now recalls.

    She has always maintained her innocence, claiming that each child died of natural causes. During the trial, she opted not to give evidence. Instead her diaries became her de facto voice.

    Nicholas Cowdery, who was the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions at the time, believes the jury got it right at the time.

    "There's been an exhaustive process," he said. "The case has been assessed by a magistrate, by a jury of 12, which was unanimous in convicting, by the Court of Criminal Appeal, and the High Court has seen nothing to be concerned about in the way in which the convictions have been recorded."

    In 2013, Folbigg's lawyers commissioned an extensive and detailed report from Professor Stephen Cordner, who examined the medical evidence presented at the trial.

    "There is no positive forensic pathology support for the contention that any or all of these children have been killed," Professor Cordner concluded in his report.

    He declined to be interviewed in case he is called upon to give evidence in future legal proceedings.

    Australian Story asked another leading international forensic pathologist to offer an opinion on Professor Cordner's report.

    "Fundamentally, I'm in agreement with Professor Cordner, in that all four of these child deaths could be explained by natural causes," said Associate Professor Matthew Orde, forensic pathologist at Vancouver General Hospital.

    Mr Cowdery has reviewed the material and has a different view.

    "I have looked at the petition that Mrs Folbigg has lodged. I've looked at the reports that have accompanied that petition. I remain of the view that the jury was correct," he said.

    But he does say it is "concerning" the petition was filed three years ago and successive NSW attorneys-general have not addressed the question of whether an inquiry should be held into Folbigg's convictions. "I think this is an inordinate delay in dealing with this matter," he said.


    In Cessnock Correctional Centre where Folbigg is serving her sentence, she has much time to reflect on her past. "My life just seems like it's been never-ending battles and things that I have to get over and conquer," she tells her friend on the recorded phone call.

    She was three when she was placed in foster care. She has no memories of her parents but their story has been well-recorded. Kathleen's father, Thomas Britton, was a Balmain dock worker who stabbed her mother to death after a fight.

    Folbigg was initially cherished by her new family but her foster sister Lea Bown says Folbigg went on to have a difficult relationship with her foster mother. "Mum was too old to have fostered her," she said. "Then my son came along and he took up all the time and her love and Kathy got none."


    A young Kathleen


    The repeating pattern of infant deaths
    Folbigg met her husband-to-be Craig Folbigg in her teens. She was 21 when she had her first child.

    "I just sort of thought that's what I was on the planet for ? to meet a fella, get married, have a child, do the family. I guess because being a foster kid, a state ward, I just thought family was to be the ultimate important thing," she said.

    But over a 10-year period from 1989 to 1999, Kathleen and Craig Folbigg would lose four children in very similar circumstances.

    Caleb was the Folbigg's firstborn. At 19 days old, Folbigg said she found him lifeless in his cot. His death was put down to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, the unexplained death of an infant. Then there was Patrick, who at four months of age suffered severe brain damage from a mysterious and unexpected "acute life-threatening event". He was revived but four months later, Patrick was also found dead by Folbigg.

    The pattern repeated itself with Sarah, who in August 1993, at 10 months of age, was unable to be resuscitated. An autopsy determined it to be another SIDS death.

    Then came Laura. She lived until she was 19 months old.


    Laura Folbigg

    Laura Folbigg

    Once again, Kathleen Folbigg said she found her lifeless in her bed, called an ambulance, and attempted to perform CPR on her, but she was unable to be revived. It was at that stage though that the pathologist at autopsy, Dr Allan Cala, became suspicious. While he noted Laura had evidence of myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, he believed it was non life-threatening and that Laura was too old to be a SIDS death.

    Dr Cala shared his concerns with Singleton Detective Bernie Ryan. Folbigg's family initially believed the police investigation was a witch-hunt, but when Craig Folbigg found his wife's diaries and read their alarming contents, he changed his mind. He and Folbigg's foster sister Lea Bown became witnesses for the prosecution. Detective Inspector Ryan told Australian Story in 2004 that, "from the moment I read the diary, it was a murder investigation."

    "She's a fairly good-natured baby," Folbigg wrote about Laura. "Thank goodness. It has saved her from the fate of her siblings. I think she was warned." Another entry: "I feel like the worst mother on this Earth. Scared she'll leave me now like Sarah did. I knew I was short-tempered and cruel sometimes to her, and she left. With a bit of help." And potentially most damning: "I am my father's daughter."

    <<cont'd>>

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    I've left out a lot of pix & vids so click the link to see it all. The new medical evidence sounds reasonable until you're reminded of the content of her diary entries. They really are damning.




    <<cont'd>>



    Diary entry


    VIDEO 0:59 LISTEN TO THE PHONE CALL: Kathleen Folbigg explains her diary entries.
    ABC NEWS (at link)


    Natural causes of death plausible explanation: New report


    The Crown case was that Folbigg had smothered her children. It relied on circumstantial evidence that she was a stressed mother prone to dark moods, that she was the one to find the dead children and did not pick up or perform CPR on the first three, and her disturbing diary entries.

    Defence witnesses argued Folbigg was a loving mother and that there was no physical evidence of injuries from smothering.

    Journalist Matthew Benns who sat through the trial said, "The prosecution case was very strong. There was the husband, the diaries, the police witnesses, the medical experts ... over the course of the seven-and-a-half week trial the weight of evidence built up a compelling picture".

    Folbigg collapsed when the guilty verdict was read out.

    Over the years, Folbigg exhausted her rights of appeal against those convictions. The NSW Court of Appeal described her diary entries as "chilling".

    But a fresh forensic opinion concludes there was nothing to suggest that "any of the children have been killed".

    In 2013, Newcastle barrister Isabel Reed brought together a team of lawyers, academics and students to review the Folbigg case. "What we're saying as her legal team is that the fresh evidence and expert reports that we have certainly cast doubt on Kathleen Folbigg's guilt," Ms Reed said.

    They asked forensic pathologist Professor Stephen Cordner to review the medical evidence which helped convict Folbigg.


    VIDEO 1:06 LISTEN TO THE PHONE CALL: Folbigg says 15 years after she was sentenced for the death of her four children, she would have the ability now to testify.
    ABC NEWS


    Professor Cordner's report concludes Caleb and Sarah's death were both properly categorised as SIDS deaths, Patrick's death was related to the epilepsy disorder he suffered in the last few months of his life, and that Laura's death "has been caused unexceptionally by myocarditis."

    Professor Cordner's report also casts doubt on the prosecution case that Folbigg smothered the children, saying that it was surprising that in five alleged smothering events "there are no signs of smothering".

    "The findings cannot rule out smothering in one or more of the cases, but especially in the case of Laura, not only is there an acceptable natural cause of death easily visible microscopically, it is important that there are neither general nor specific signs of compression of the face present," he said.

    "If the convictions are to stand, they must do so without the support of forensic pathology, and in Laura's case at least, against the forensic pathology view."

    Associate Professor Matthew Orde, who has reviewed the slides from Laura's autopsy concurs.

    "I think this is an eminently fatal case of myocarditis. Of course we can't say for sure that this would have been the cause of death in Laura's case. All I can say is I think this provides a very good explanation for her untimely death," he said.

    "I think this case certainly needs to be re-examined quite carefully."


    Mr Cowdery suggests that even if it was accepted that Laura's death was due to natural causes, that does not mean that the other convictions cannot stand.

    However, Folbigg's barrister, Robert Cavanagh disagrees.

    "You can't just simply say, 'Well we got one wrong but the others can still stand'. They chose to run the trial and they packaged the trial ? four trials happening within the one," he said.

    In a statement, NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said he was giving "appropriate consideration" to Folbigg's petition. He said it raised "complex questions to which I have ? taken extensive advice".

    Mr Speakman said he expected to make an announcement in "the near future".

    From her prison cell, Folbigg says she is incredibly frustrated by the delay. "We're just simply waiting for a decision. For three years now, we've been clinging to that little bit of hope."

    Conversations with Kathleen Folbigg


    On the diary entry, "She left. With a bit of help":

    "That quote, that was a reference to God or to some higher power or something going on that I didn't understand. I was thinking why was I not allowed to have the other three but now I've fallen pregnant again am I going to be allowed to keep this one?"

    On not testifying at her trial:

    "I said [to my solicitors]: "I don't think I'll cope with sitting up on the stand and having some bloke just attack me over them [the diary entries]. Now, 15 years later, I'm sort of gosh, I should've done it? I'm a totally different person, so, yeah, I would have the strength to sit up there and go: 'Wait a minute, what are you trying to do here?'"



    Kathleen Folbigg says she's "clinging on to that little bit of hope" that her case will soon be reviewed.
    MICK TSIKAS: AAP



    On how she felt when she heard the verdict:

    "Nothing might have come out of my mouth. The tears were flowing, but from the inside I just felt like I was absolutely just screaming my lungs out, going, 'No! This isn't right'. By the time they got me downstairs, my legs weren't even working properly. I was half carried down the stairs, and out to the cells."

    On life in prison:

    "I have a routine where I come out and do some exercise and all those kinds of stuff. And then the afternoon is just more attempting to be social and talking to girls, and you know, get coffee and all that sort of stuff."

    Watch 'From Behind Bars' on Australian Story at 8pm on ABCTV and ABC iview.

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-...iller/11317866



    Folbigg children 'likely' to have been killed by genetic variant, experts at inquiry say
    BY QUENTIN MCDERMOTT
    UPDATED 34 MINUTES AGO



    A seated woman wearing glasses and a blue cardigan.

    PHOTO An inquiry is assessing Kathleen Folbigg's 2003 conviction.


    ABC NEWS: JAMELLE WELLS

    Genetic experts argue a genetic variant likely caused the death of two of Kathleen Folbigg's daughters, in a series of back-and-forth submissions to an inquiry into her murder convictions.

    Key points:

    NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman ordered an inquiry into Folbigg's convictions in August

    Medical experts suggests a genetic variant could have been a factor in two of her children's deaths

    This evidence may help decide whether Folbigg's case is sent to the Court of Criminal Appeal

    In his letter written to in the inquiry, one of the experts ? Professor Peter Schwartz, a world-leading genetic researcher ? has called for a re-evaluation of Folbigg's convictions, based on a genetic variant he says "justifies fully re-opening the case".



    Folbigg is serving a minimum 25-year sentence for murdering three of her children ? Sarah, Patrick and Laura ? as well as the manslaughter of her first-born, Caleb.

    Professor Schwartz, a world authority on the genetic causes of Long QT syndrome ? a heart rhythm condition that in some cases can cause sudden death as well as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ? wrote a letter to into the inquiry last month.

    The letter, made public this week, said the identification of a genetic variant known as "CALM2 G114R" in Folbigg and two of her children raised "significant doubts" over her conviction.

    The CALM2 variant is a gene associated with life-threatening cardiac episodes during infancy and early childhood.

    "My conclusion is that the accusation of infanticide might have been premature and not correct," Professor Schwartz wrote.

    Professor Schwartz, along with another one of Australia's foremost researchers in genetics, Professor Carola Vinuesa, determined the genetic variant was "likely" to have caused the deaths of the two girls.

    Patrick, Laura, Caleb and Sarah Folbigg

    PHOTO Clockwise from top left: Patrick, Laura, Caleb and Sarah Folbigg.
    ABC NEWS


    The judicial inquiry into Folbigg's convictions was announced by the NSW Government in August last year, nine days after the broadcast of an Australian Story episode questioning the evidence that convicted her at her 2003 trial.

    Professor Schwartz's letter was written after an approach by Professor Vinuesa who gave evidence to the inquiry in April.

    Last month an academic paper about life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias caused by variants in the CALM genes was published by Professor Schwartz and his colleagues.

    In it, Professor Schwartz described a family with two children who died from a variant of G114, which is the same genetic location as the variant present in two of Folbigg's children.

    He said in that case, the variant was inherited by a mother who, like Folbigg, was asymptomatic.

    "In the Folbigg family, the two female children and the mother carry the CALM2 variant," he said.

    "Only very recently has it become evident that genetic perturbations in CALM1, CALM2 and CALM3 are associated with the occurrence of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias."

    'Cannot exclude' gene variant

    Tests carried out in recent months on samples from Folbigg and her four children revealed the gene was present in two of the children who died, her girls Sarah and Laura, as well as Kathleen, but was not present in the two other children who died, the boys Caleb and Patrick.

    Convicted child killer, Kathleen Folbigg

    PHOTO Kathleen Folbigg is currently serving a minimum 25-year prison sentence.
    MICK TSIKAS: AAP


    Professor Vinuesa, who was called by Ms Folbigg's lawyers to give evidence, told the inquiry that she "would not feel comfortable" with excluding the genetic variant as a cause of disease.

    "We cannot exclude rare variants such as those found in CALM2, MYH6, IDS and NLRP1 as potentially contributing to the deaths of the Folbigg children based on available information," she wrote.

    Professor Vinuesa and her colleagues identified three genes, CALM2, MYH6, and IDS, carrying ultra-rare variants that, in her opinion, were "likely pathogenic" and "may contribute to the deaths of the Folbigg children."

    However, two experts called by counsel assisting the inquiry Gail Furness SC, Professor Edwin Kirk and Dr Michael Buckley, said they were "uncertain" as to whether CALM2 might be disease-causing and the cause of the girls' deaths.

    They said they did not see a straightforward way of resolving the issue by further genetic testing.

    "Genetic information alone will not determine whether there may have been other contributing factors relevant to the deaths," they said.

    In response to this, Professors Schwartz and Vinuesa said: "We think it is likely that the two female Folbigg children died as a result of the CALM2 G114R variant, while the two male children died from different causes that could also be genetic."

    Justice Reginald Blanch is expected to take this fresh genetic evidence into account in determining whether there is now sufficient reasonable doubt about Folbigg's convictions to justify sending her case to the Court of Criminal Appeal.

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    Quote Originally Posted by blighted star View Post
    I fully concur with the Prof Schwartz and his colleague on this. While not familiar with this case, I would have been that lone juror who would have never convicted this poor woman. There was absolutely NO evidence or forensic pathology to do so, in fact, there was to the contrary. As soon as i read here that 1 child who was too old to have died to SIDS, but was found to have died from natural causes (myocarditis) that was 1 red flag. (And it also reminded me of another similar tragic American case where a young mother was convicted of ethylene glycol poisoning her infant son, which was later proven instead to be from a rare genetic metabolic disorder MMA)
    Also disturbing is seeing how easily a juries' bias can sway their perceptions of actual evidence or lack thereof. I can understand a mob mentality of only seeing her 4 dead babies and some diary entries, that they want so badly to hate her and hang someone. But theres still actual evidence in her favor and so much room for reasonable doubt that she should never have been convicted.
    Anyway, too much to unpack, but I hope this woman's case is revisited with supporting competent subject matter expertise and she is better served soon.

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2021-...lbigg/13214450


    Ninety scientists, doctors call for convicted child killer Kathleen Folbigg's release
    By Jessica Kidd
    .

    A group of 90 expert scientists and doctors is calling for convicted child killer Kathleen Folbigg to be pardoned in light of new medical evidence which suggests her children may have died of natural causes.

    Key points:

    Ms Folbigg has served 18 years in prison for the murder and manslaughter of her four children

    Experts are arguing that two of her children may have died of a cardiac condition

    A 2019 inquiry upheld the convictions, but a pardon is now up to the NSW Governor

    Folbigg, 53, was convicted in 2003 of smothering her four children over a 10-year period from 1989 to 1999 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.



    The group of scientists and experts has signed a petition calling on NSW Governor Margaret Beazley to "stop the ongoing miscarriage of justice suffered by Ms Folbigg".

    "Not to do so is to continue to deny Ms Folbigg basic human rights," the group wrote.

    "Ms Folbigg's case establishes a dangerous precedent as it means that cogent medical and scientific evidence can simply be ignored in preference to subjective interpretations of circumstantial evidence."

    It comes following a 2019 inquiry led by Justice Reginald Blanch which upheld Folbigg's convictions of murder and manslaughter, with Justice Blanch stating he did not have "any reasonable doubt" as to Folbigg's guilt.


    The group who submitted the petition includes Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty, Nobel prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn and former Australian of the Year Fiona Stanley.

    Solicitor Rhanee Rego has previously acted for Folbigg and said there has been significant new medical evidence that shows at least two of her children, Sarah and Laura Folbigg, likely died of natural causes.

    "We wrote this petition to bring to light this new scientific evidence," she said.

    "These are some of the most widely recognised and most intelligent scientists and medical practitioners across the world, not just in Australia, and they are persuaded by the new findings."


    Genetic sequencing of Sarah and Laura Folbigg's DNA, obtained from their neonatal heel prick tests, showed they both inherited a genetic mutation from their mother known as CALM2.

    Ms Rego said medical and scientific literature showed that mutations of the CALM2 gene can cause sudden cardiac death.

    "It's one of the best-recognised causes of sudden death, both awake and asleep, in infants and adults," she said.

    "If it's triggered by things like intercurrent infections or drugs like pseudoephedrine, this can actually trigger a cardiac arrhythmia."

    "This is what the group of scientists have now found as the likely explanation of Sarah and Laura Folbigg's death."


    Folbigg says she was referencing God or a higher being when she was talking about Laura in her diary

    Ms Rego said there was also emerging research that shows Folbigg's two sons, Patrick and Caleb Folbigg, may have carried different genetic mutations which contributed to their deaths.

    "We have a natural cause of death explanation for each of the children," she said.

    "The CALM2 variant has been found in Sarah and Laura and there is also two other significant genes of interest that could relate to the boys ? that's under further investigation."

    Kathleen Folbigg was convicted on largely circumstantial evidence contained in diaries she wrote around the times of her children's deaths.

    An entry in her diary from January 1, 1997 ? when she was pregnant with Laura ? read: "Another year gone and what a year to come. I have a baby on the way which means major personal sacrifice for both of us, but I feel confident about it all going well. This time I am going to call for help, this time I'll not attempt to do everything myself any more. I know that that was my main reason for all my stress before and stress made me do terrible things ?"

    Another of the entries read: "I feel like the worst mother on this earth. Scared that she'll leave me now like Sarah did. I knew I was short-tempered and cruel sometimes to her, and she left. With a bit of help."

    However, Folbigg told a friend she was referencing "God or some higher being" in telephone conversations from Cessnock jail which were later broadcast on ABC's Australian Story.

    Australia's most hated woman

    Before a judicial inquiry into her case was announced, Kathleen Folbigg spoke publicly for the first time to Australian Story and gave an explanation for her incriminating diary entries.


    Ms Rego believes medical evidence should trump circumstantial evidence when it comes to a serious conviction like the murder or manslaughter of children.

    "Our legal system is not infallible, we do make mistakes," she said.

    "We only need to look at Lindy Chamberlain to see and remind us that this can happen ? and we say it is a miscarriage of justice and the Governor has the power to pardon Kathleen Folbigg."

    The decision to pardon Folbigg now rests solely with the NSW Governor.

    If Folbigg is successful in being pardoned, it would not mean her convictions for the children's deaths are automatically overturned.

    She would still need to seek leave to appeal her conviction in the NSW courts.

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    Cousin Greg Angiebla's Avatar
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    I've seen more than one Forensic Files about cases like this. I believe she could be innocent. My only question is: Why keep having children?

    "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man" -Charles Darwin

    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    Chelsea, if you are a ghost and reading mds, I command you to walk into the light.

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