Australia's 'most hated woman' Kathleen Folbigg speaks for first time from jail
Kathleen Folbigg, who was convicted of killing her four children, has spoken out about her incriminating diary entries that were a crucial part of her prosecution.
Since she was found guilty by a New South Wales Supreme Court jury in May 2003 of the murder of her infant children Patrick, Sarah and Laura and the manslaughter of Caleb, the mother has maintained her innocence – saying that her offspring all died of natural causes.
Ms Folbigg’s legal team lodged a petition for a judicial review of her case with the NSW Governor in 2015, which includes a new report from Professor Stephen Corner, a prominent forensic pathologist in Australia.
The report casts doubt on the forensic evidence that played a major role in her prosecution case, ultimately leading to her conviction.
In a phone call recorded by Australian Story, Folbigg speaks out for the first time, discussing her incriminating diary entries.
"You've got to understand that those diaries are written from a point of me always blaming myself," Folbigg said during the phone call.
"I blamed myself for everything. It's just I took so much of the responsibility, because that's, as mothers, what you do."
Folbigg claimed her entry which read, “She left. With a bit of help”, was talking about a higher power.
"That quote, that was a reference to God or to some higher power or something going on that I didn't understand. I was thinking why was I not allowed to have the other three but now I've fallen pregnant again am I going to be allowed to keep this one?"
During the call, she also talked about her regret of not testifying at trial.
"I said [to my solicitors]: 'I don't think I'll cope with sitting up on the stand and having some bloke just attack me over them [the diary entries]. Now, 15 years later, I'm sort of gosh, I should've done it… I'm a totally different person, so, yeah, I would have the strength to sit up there and go: 'Wait a minute, what are you trying to do here?'"
Folbigg’s trial was a case that shocked Australia and she was sentenced to 40 years in jail, which was later reduced to 30 years.
"I often described it, especially when I was going through the trial, as like I was just hanging onto a cliff by one finger," Folbigg recalled.
In 2013, Folbigg’s lawyers commissioned a report from Professor Stephen Cordner, who examined the medical evidence presented at the trial.
"There is no positive forensic pathology support for the contention that any or all of these children have been killed," Professor Cordner wrote in his report.
Australian Story found another forensic pathologist at Vancouver General Hospital, Associate Professor Matthew Orde, who agreed with the report.
"Fundamentally, I'm in agreement with Professor Cordner, in that all four of these child deaths could be explained by natural causes," said Associate Professor Matthew Orde.
However, New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions at the trial, Nicholas Cowdery, disagrees.
"I have looked at the petition that Mrs Folbigg has lodged. I've looked at the reports that have accompanied that petition. I remain of the view that the jury was correct," he said.
Despite not agreeing with the report, Mr Cowdery said it was “concerning” the petition filed three years ago has not triggered a question of whether an inquiry should be held into Folbigg’s convictions.
"I think this is an inordinate delay in dealing with this matter," he said.