A mother in Australia who spent 20 years in jail after being convicted of killing her four infant children had her convictions quashed Thursday in light of new evidence that cast doubt on her guilt.
Kathleen Folbigg, 56, was once reviled as the “most hated woman” in the country following her 2003 conviction for the murder of three of her kids and the manslaughter of a fourth. After being freed from prison and pardoned in June, she could now be set to receive the largest wrongful conviction payout in Australian history.
At trial, prosecutors presented Folbigg’s diary entries—in which she wrote about feelings of having failed as a mother—as admissions of guilt. She was accused of having smothered her children Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura, all of whom died suddenly between the ages of 19 days and 18 months between 1989-1999.
