Convicted of four child murders – mother pardoned after 20 years Rammstein responds to mass accusations – fueling speculation

In Australia, a woman convicted of multiple murders has been pardoned after 20 years in prison because there are serious doubts about her guilt. Kathleen Folbigg, now 55, was found guilty of murdering her four children in 2003. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison and was not expected to be released until 2028 at the earliest. She has always maintained her innocence.

The children had all died suddenly over a ten-year period (1989-1999) between the ages of 19 days and 19 months. The case had caused quite a stir. The mother was called “Australia’s worst serial killer”.

However, new scientific findings have now shown that the two boys and two girls may have died of natural causes, as the convict had claimed, New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley said Monday.

A new investigation was launched after it emerged that the woman had passed on a rare genetic mutation to her two daughters. This can lead to cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. Nearly 100 scientists and doctors then petitioned to reopen the case, citing possible medical reasons for each of the four deaths.

Former Chief Justice Tom Bathurst, who led the inquiry, said: “I have come to believe that there is reasonable doubt about Ms Folbigg’s guilt for each of the offenses she was initially charged with”. One of the sons may have died of a neurogenetic disease such as epilepsy.

The original process was purely indirect, on which the experts interviewed disagreed. At the time, the Public Prosecution Service considered it unlikely that four children would die of natural causes. The entries in the mother’s diary, which were taken as an admission of guilt, were likely due to the woman’s grief and desperation, it was said. (saw/sda/dpa)