Australian authorities announced the pardon of Kathleen Folbigg on Monday. The case, once closed with a formal conviction, was revisited after a collaborative inquiry involving a Spanish scientist who proposed that genetic factors could shed new light on the mysterious infant deaths.
Forgiveness was publicly acknowledged. In a press conference in Sydney, Australia’s New South Wales Attorney General, Michael Daley, indicated that the decision should be followed by immediate release for Folbigg, emphasizing that the pardon recognizes the doubts that had accumulated over time.
The case review centered on the deaths of Caleb, Patrick, Sarah, and Laura between 1989 and 1999. During the reevaluation, scientists suggested that a rare genetic mutation might underlie the losses, casting doubt on the certainty of the original murder verdicts within a relatively short window after the new hypothesis emerged.
The pardon was issued after former judge Tom Bathurst, who oversaw the examination of the case, determined that reasonable doubts existed about Folbigg’s guilt for each of the charged crimes. Daley stressed that the decision acknowledged these doubts and paved the way for release pending approval from higher authorities.
The 55-year-old woman is believed to have already been released, following a pardon granted by the Governor-General of New South Wales, in line with public reporting.
The review suggested that three of the children’s deaths were plausibly attributed to natural causes. The connection between the fourth child’s death and a genetic factor did not align with Bathurst’s findings, though,
In a statement, Daley noted that the attorney could not accept the assumption that Folbigg did not love her children, underscoring the human complexity behind the case and the implications of the new genetic discussion.
The role of a Spanish immunologist
A multinational team coordinated by Spanish immunologist Carola García de Vinuesa and led by Danish researcher Michael Toft Overgaard concluded in 2020 that the deaths of Folbigg’s babies might be linked to genetic causes.
Scientific research published in Europace, a journal associated with the European Society of Cardiology, identified a genetic mutation CALM2 in Folbigg’s daughters Sarah and Laura, a variant associated with sudden cardiac events.
The study was conducted by an international team of 27 scientists who found that the children carried rare variants of a gene implicated in neurological and cardiac functions, suggesting a possible genetic contribution to the fatal outcomes.
reopening the case
The original sentence had Folbigg serving 40 years in prison in 2003, later reduced to 30 years in 2005. He pursued multiple appeals while maintaining innocence, arguing that the children died of natural causes in the Hunter Valley region, about 120 miles from Sydney.
The case was reopened after sustained advocacy from the scientific community. In March 2021, a letter from around 100 scientists, including two Nobel laureates, urged Australian authorities to pardon Folbigg and secure immediate release.