One of Britain’s most famous forensic anthropologists has come forward to retrace the unfathomable story of Maitland serial child killer Kathleen Folbigg.
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Xanthe Mallett, now living in Australia, has explored the disturbing Folbigg case as part of her new book Mothers Who Murder.
“This case has created a lot of controversy and, of all the scenarios in this book, it causes me the most concern in terms of whether an innocent woman is in jail for crimes she has not committed,” Dr Mallet wrote in her chapter on Folbigg.
“I need to be clear here: I am not saying that Kathleen Folbigg is innocent.
“What I am saying is that I do not believe that the evidence (including the lack of any forensic evidence that indicates that Kathleen intentionally harmed any of her children) demonstrated guilt beyond the legal criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.”
Folbigg is serving a reduced sentence of 25 years after she was convicted in 2003 of murdering her children Patrick, eight months, Sarah, 10 months, and Laura, 19 months, between 1991 and 1999, and the 1989 manslaughter of her son Caleb, aged 19 days.
Folbigg has always maintained her innocence.
It is reported that, on average, 27 children are killed by their mother or father every year in Australia - more than one a fortnight.
It’s a disturbing crime that often goes unnoticed, but in many instances the disturbing nature of the crime - the horrifying reality that vulnerable children are being harmed by their parents - makes headlines and captures public attention.
In Mothers Who Murder, Dr Mallett looks at some of the most high-profile cases of maternal filicide including Lindy Chamberlain, Rachel Pfitzner (mother of Dean Shillingsworth), Kristi Adams (mother of Keisha Weippart) and Keli Lane (mother of baby Tegan).
In the book, Dr Mallett revisits each case from the beginning through to trial and looks for motivation behind the crimes.
She also compares Folbigg’s case to that of Lindy Chamberlain.
“Like Lindy Chamberlain before her, Kathleen Folbigg is despised by huge swathes of the Australian population,” Dr Mallet wrote.
“The question I would ask those involved with prosecuting her [Folbigg] is - have we learnt nothing from the Chamberlain case?” she questioned.
Mothers Who Murder will be released on Friday, August 1.
The Kathleen Folbigg case will be revisited in Friday’s weekend edition of the Mercury.
