Kathleen Folbigg will sit down for a bombshell interview as a free woman after being pardoned of killing her four children this year.
The now 55-year-old spent 20 years behind bars after she was convicted in 2003 of the murder of three of her children and the manslaughter of a fourth child between 1989 and 1999.
She remained firm in her innocence throughout her time in prison, maintaining that she didn’t kill or harm her children Patrick, Sarah, Laura and Caleb, who each died suddenly before they reached their second birthday.
After she was given an unconditional pardon by NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley, Ms Folbigg has led a quiet life as a free woman but will now sit down for an “extraordinary interview” with 7’s Spotlight program.
Ms Folbigg will address how she was called a “kid killer” and is expected to speak about the toll her 20 years behind bars took on her.
The program, hosted by journalist Nat Barr, will also speak to Lindy Chamberlain who was convicted and then pardoned of killing her own daughter.
“There is nothing more horrendous than being accused of killing your own child,” Ms Chamberlain says in a preview of the program.
A key scientific breakthrough proved the crucial step to freeing Ms Folbigg, with expert testimony at an inquiry into her convictions helping recast her from killer to grieving mother.
The inquiry heard evidence from experts about new scientific developments that could potentially prove some of her children died as a result of a genetic mutation, while the others died of natural causes linked to medical issues.
A scientific report suggested that the deaths of Laura, who died at 18 months, and Sarah, who died at 10 months, were linked to a rare genetic variant.
Medical experts during the inquiry discussed the possibility the two girls had the rare genetic mutations CALM2G114R – believed to be linked to long QT syndrome, a heart-signalling disorder that can cause fast, chaotic heartbeats or arrhythmias.
Some experts believed Ms Folbigg shared the same genetic mutation as her daughters.
This fatal genetic mutation was not discovered by medical scientists until years after the deaths and would not have been investigated at the time, the inquiry was told.
The inquiry was also told how Patrick had been taken to hospital in 1990 after his parents found him struggling to breathe, with the then four-month-old reportedly blue when he reached the facility.
Leading neurologist and federal MP Monique Ryan testified at the inquiry that Patrick had likely died due to a brain injury suffered during the medical episode.
“He had an uncontrolled epileptic seizure which more likely than not caused his death,” she told the inquiry.
“Sometimes when babies have seizures they can be relatively subtle, but they (the parents) would recognise the babies were having unusual events, even if they didn’t recognise them to be a seizure.”
The inquiry was unable to determine the exact cause of death of Ms Folbigg’s eldest child Caleb, who died just 19 days after his birth in 1989. It is likely he also died of natural causes.