Woman jailed for death of her babies in Australia, but scientific discovery sets her free

The retrial of Kathleen Folbigg, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2003 for the murder of her four children, concluded this Thursday, opening the possibility of her pardon after The investigation, coordinated by a Spanish scientist, showed that death could be caused by genetic failures.

Former Judge Thomas Bathurst, in charge of the review, will have to submit a report indicating whether the case should be referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal, which may or may not overturn the conviction, or to the Governor of New South Wales. region for her recommendation of pardon, with no specific deadline for its publication, according to the Australian public broadcaster ABC.

However, the New South Wales Department of Justice said there was no release date for the Bathurst report.

“This is our second Lindy Chamberlain case here in Australia.”

Green deputies @SueHigginson_ criticized the New South Wales judiciary for convicting Kathleen Folbigg for the death of her four children 20 years ago after Folbigg’s pardon. pic.twitter.com/Qh0gFPw3U0

— 10 News First Sydney (@10NewsFirstSyd) June 5, 2023

rare genetic mutation

Australian authorities ordered last year a retrial of Folbigg’s case over the deaths of his children Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura between 1989 and 1999, when they were between 19 days and 18 months old, after a team of scientists pointed to the possibility that the deaths occurred due to a rare genetic mutation.

In a review that began last November, it has been argued that there is reasonable doubt about Folbigg’s responsibility for the deaths of minors.

In 2020, a team of scientists coordinated by Spanish immunologist Carola García de Vinuesa and led by Dane Michael Toft Overgaard concluded that the death of the Folbigg babies could be due to genetic causes.

Scientific research published in a specialized journal europeanfrom the European Heart Association links a genetic mutation (CALM2) in Folbigg’s two daughters, Sarah and Laura, to sudden cardiac death.

In addition, a study by an international team of 27 scientists found that children carry rare variants of a gene that kills rodents with epileptic seizures..

Australia pardons mother who spent 20 years in prison for killing her four children after hearing

In that #Channel24Horace They talk to Carola Garcia de Vinueza, one of the people in charge of this investigation.

📺 https://t.co/vVRqw1kQ0I pic.twitter.com/7JZzrp1bxQ

– RTVE News (@rtvenoticias) June 5, 2023

Folbigg defended his innocence

Folbigg was sentenced in 2003 to 30 years in prison for the murder of three of her children and for the murder of another of them, and she appealed her sentence several times without success, maintaining her innocence and asserting that her children died of natural causes. in the town of Hunter Valley, about 120 kilometers from Sydney.

Kathleen Folbigg spent 19 years in prison and has been called “Australia’s worst female serial killer”. Now investigating her case will allow us to look at clinical genetics in a completely new way. https://t.co/LO31PIi0Z0

— nature (@nature) January 6, 2023

The case was reopened as a result of a letter sent in March 2021 by 100 scientists. – including two Nobel Prize winners – to ask for clemency and the immediate release of an Australian from New South Wales Governor General Margaret Beasley.

All the babies were sick with various ailments: the first, Caleb, laryngomalacia; the second, Patrick, had very severe epilepsy and died of an epileptic seizure while Sarah was taking antibiotics for a respiratory infection and Laura was suffering from myocarditis.