Kathleen Folbigg: Mother who served 20 years for killing her four babies pardoned

Brisbane, Australia CNN

After serving 20 years in prison for the murder of her four children, a woman who was dubbed Australia's worst serial killer pardoned herself. This appears to be the gravest injustice of all time.

Michael Daley, the Attorney General of New South Wales, intervened and ordered that Kathleen Folbigg's release be granted based on preliminary findings from an investigation which found "reasonable doubt" as to her guilt in all four deaths.

Daley said at a Monday press conference that he spoke to the Governor and recommended a pardon unconditional which was granted.

Daley stated, 'This 20-year old issue has been a horrible ordeal for all concerned. I hope our actions today will bring some closure to this matter.

Folbigg, who was found to be the one who discovered the bodies of her babies, was sentenced in 2003 for three counts of manslaughter and a third count of murder. There was no evidence that she caused the deaths.

The jury instead relied on the prosecutor's claim that the odds of four babies in one family dying of natural causes before they reach the age of 2 were so minuscule as to be likened to pigs soaring.

The police also took note of the diary entries, which were read as guilt confessions when taken in isolation.

Even as recently as 2019, an investigation into her convictions concluded that there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she committed the crimes.

A second investigation was launched last year, after new evidence revealed that the deaths of these children could be genetically explained.

Sophie Callan said in her final submissions that there was a "reasonable doubt" about Ms Folbigg’s guilt, based on the evidence presented to the inquiry.

She told the inquiry in her closing submissions that the NSW Director for Public Prosecutions indicated she would also be 'open to the Inquiry concluding there is reasonable doubt about Ms Folbigg’s guilt'.