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After 20 years in prison, a woman in Australia has been acquitted of the murder of her four children. A Sydney court on Thursday quashed a 2003 murder conviction against Kathleen Folbigg.

The woman once described as ‘Australia’s worst serial killer’ was pardoned and released from prison in June. Previously, new scientific findings had raised strong doubts about their guilt.

“For almost a quarter of a century I was confronted with disbelief and hostility,” Folbigg, who has always maintained her innocence, said Thursday after her acquittal. “I am grateful that new science and genetics have given me answers about how my children died.”

Accusation: murder of three children

Folbigg was convicted in 2003 of murdering three of her children and manslaughter of a fourth child. The prosecutor accused her of suffocating the children between 1989 and 1999. The youngest child was 19 days old and the oldest about 18 months old.

In the absence of forensic evidence, the prosecution had argued that it was extremely unlikely that four children had died suddenly and without explanation. She also referred to her mother’s diary entries, which, according to the Public Prosecution Service, could be interpreted as admissions of guilt.

Death due to rare genetic defects

However, new scientific findings in recent years have suggested that the children died due to rare genetic defects and birth defects. The Australian Academy of Sciences, among others, advocated Folbigg. The woman, in her mid-50s, was pardoned and released from prison in June after a thorough investigation into the case.

The 2003 judgment has now been officially overturned. Folbigg’s lawyer Rhanee Rego subsequently said her client was now entitled to “significant” damages. (sda/afp)