MUMS WHO KILL
WHY WOULD A MOTHER TAKE THE LIVES OF HER OWN CHILDREN?
KATHLEEN FOLBIGG
In a case that shocked the nation, mother-of-four Kathleen Folbigg was found guilty in 2003 of systematically killing all of her children over the course of a decade, before any of them had even hit 2 years old.
Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura – aged between 19 days and 19 months – all died at the hands of their mother within a 10-year period spanning from 1989 to 1999.
Folbigg has always maintained her innocence, insisting that her children died of natural causes, but more recently tried to claim three of the four kids were taken by some “supernatural power”.
According to her ex-husband Craig Folbigg, the convicted killer had “homicidal rages” and “psychological mood swings” that led her to smother her babies to death.
Folbigg is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence with a non-parole period of 25 years and all attempts to prove her innocence have been quashed. Former Chief Judge of the NSW District Court Reginald Blanch said earlier this year that, after reviewing previous proceedings’ results, he did not have “any reasonable doubt” as to her guilt.
“I agree with the findings and decisions made pre-trial, during the trial and on appeal,” he said.
“It remains that the only conclusion reasonably open is that somebody intentionally caused harm to the children, and smothering was the obvious method. The evidence pointed to no person other than Ms Folbigg.”
During the inquiry, Folbigg defended the diary entries that were brought as evidence alluding to her killing her babies. “The problem that I felt that landed me in the position that I’m in is assumptions being made, and things being taken out of context, and nobody understanding what it was I was trying to say when I was writing in these diaries,” she said.
Folbigg will remain in prison and is not eligible for parole until 2028.