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Authors: Xanthe Mallett
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post-mortem, performed by Dr Alan Cala at the central mortuary in Sydney, showed that Laura had clear fluid around her nostrils and some inflammatory changes in her heart consistent with a mild infection, probably viral. Laura had petechial haemorrhages on her thymusgland, as well as haemorrhages on her lungs restricted to a particular main region. Her lungs had also collapsed. Dr Cala was unable to determine the cause of death, but ruled out SIDS. The coroner recorded Laura’s death as ‘undetermined’ and ordered a police investigation. Craig was distraught following Laura’s death and he and Kathleen separated – the stress of losing four children proving too much for this young family.
THE INVESTIGATION AND THE EVIDENCE
Quite correctly, when Detective Sergeant Bernard Ryan was assigned to the Folbigg case, he took nothing for granted. He did not presume this was another case of SIDS, but instead kept an open mind and considered all possibilities. However, his suspicions were raised when he discovered that Laura was the fourth child the Folbiggs had lost in a similar manner.
As a result of the couple’s separation, Kathleen had moved out of the family home, and it was while Craig was tidying up her remaining possessions that the case took an unexpected and – superficially – sinister turn. In a bedside drawer Craig found diaries, written by Kathleen, the contents of which shocked him as they appeared to indicate that Kathleen hurt the children intentionally. The Crown relied heavily on these diaries throughout the initial prosecution, particularly those entries made following Sarah’s death, when Kathleen was thinking of having another child, as well as those from the period just after Laura’s birth. The prosecution felt they were of significant probative value, meaning they helped prove the Crown’s case that Kathleen had intentionally smothered all four of her children. The prosecution considered the diariesso important because – as they said to the jury – some entries were virtual admissions by Kathleen that she was responsible for the deaths of Caleb, Patrick and Sarah. Of particular note was an entry made on 3 June 1990, the day Patrick was born and fifteen months after Caleb’s death:
03/06/1990:
I had mixed feelings this day. Whether or not I was going to cope as a mother or whether I was going to get stressed out like I did last time. I often regret Caleb & Patrick, only because your life changes so much, and maybe I’m not a Person that likes change. But we will see?
The words obviously show a woman of mixed emotions. She admits that she is frightened she may not cope with another baby. But the question I asked when reading these entries is whether these words were clearly those of a woman who has already murdered one child.
Kathleen wrote about huge mood swings and her emotional problems dealing with the transition from being pregnant to having a baby. Her diaries also detailed marriage problems – her fears that Craig would leave her, possibly for another woman – as well as personal insecurities. But it was comments about her feelings towards her children that really set suspicions racing – entries like:
04/02/1997:
My guilt of how responsible I feel for them all haunts me, my fear of it happening again, haunts me …
and this quote talking about Laura:
25/10/1997:
Wouldn’t have handled another like Sarah. She’s saved her life by being different.
While I agree that these entries, on the face of them, appear disconcerting, if we consider them from the perspective of Kathleen being innocent, what could they indicate? One interpretation is that she feels tremendous guilt for not protecting her children. Read in isolation, the entry written on 4 February 1997 is not, in my opinion, suspicious; however, when considered with the second quote from October of that year, it could be problematic. But let’s look at the second entry. Could Kathleen have meant that Laura saved her
THE INVESTIGATION AND THE EVIDENCE
Quite correctly, when Detective Sergeant Bernard Ryan was assigned to the Folbigg case, he took nothing for granted. He did not presume this was another case of SIDS, but instead kept an open mind and considered all possibilities. However, his suspicions were raised when he discovered that Laura was the fourth child the Folbiggs had lost in a similar manner.
As a result of the couple’s separation, Kathleen had moved out of the family home, and it was while Craig was tidying up her remaining possessions that the case took an unexpected and – superficially – sinister turn. In a bedside drawer Craig found diaries, written by Kathleen, the contents of which shocked him as they appeared to indicate that Kathleen hurt the children intentionally. The Crown relied heavily on these diaries throughout the initial prosecution, particularly those entries made following Sarah’s death, when Kathleen was thinking of having another child, as well as those from the period just after Laura’s birth. The prosecution felt they were of significant probative value, meaning they helped prove the Crown’s case that Kathleen had intentionally smothered all four of her children. The prosecution considered the diariesso important because – as they said to the jury – some entries were virtual admissions by Kathleen that she was responsible for the deaths of Caleb, Patrick and Sarah. Of particular note was an entry made on 3 June 1990, the day Patrick was born and fifteen months after Caleb’s death:
03/06/1990:
I had mixed feelings this day. Whether or not I was going to cope as a mother or whether I was going to get stressed out like I did last time. I often regret Caleb & Patrick, only because your life changes so much, and maybe I’m not a Person that likes change. But we will see?
The words obviously show a woman of mixed emotions. She admits that she is frightened she may not cope with another baby. But the question I asked when reading these entries is whether these words were clearly those of a woman who has already murdered one child.
Kathleen wrote about huge mood swings and her emotional problems dealing with the transition from being pregnant to having a baby. Her diaries also detailed marriage problems – her fears that Craig would leave her, possibly for another woman – as well as personal insecurities. But it was comments about her feelings towards her children that really set suspicions racing – entries like:
04/02/1997:
My guilt of how responsible I feel for them all haunts me, my fear of it happening again, haunts me …
and this quote talking about Laura:
25/10/1997:
Wouldn’t have handled another like Sarah. She’s saved her life by being different.
While I agree that these entries, on the face of them, appear disconcerting, if we consider them from the perspective of Kathleen being innocent, what could they indicate? One interpretation is that she feels tremendous guilt for not protecting her children. Read in isolation, the entry written on 4 February 1997 is not, in my opinion, suspicious; however, when considered with the second quote from October of that year, it could be problematic. But let’s look at the second entry. Could Kathleen have meant that Laura saved her
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