Wrongly convicted mother Kathleen Folbigg says genetic testing should be made more readily available to avoid other people experiencing a similar fate.
Ms Folbigg served more than 20 years in prison after being convicted of killing her four children, before she was released and acquitted in 2023 after an inquiry heard there was reasonable doubt about her guilt based on new scientific evidence.
The children, Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura, died between 1989 and 1999 at ages ranging from 19 days to 18 months.
Experts said during the inquiry a rare genetic variation was a “reasonably possible cause” of the deaths of Sarah and Laura.
Speaking at the Universities Australia Solutions Summit in Canberra, Ms Folbigg said greater access to genetic testing was needed.
“Genetic science did play quite a large role in having me released, and one of my dreams …. would be standard genetic testing before a situation like mine was to arise again, that genetic testing is done before you cock the hammer of a gun and fire,” she told the summit on Tuesday.
“It was certainly a rocky road to try to get people to listen.”
Ms Folbigg said genetic testing had rapidly developed in the two decades since she was tried and convicted and that it could provide other benefits to future parents.
She said law enforcement should also have greater access to the scientific tools.
“I’d like to think that investigators in the first place, instead of just automatically going ‘whoever the primary carer is, it’s their fault’, to expand their investigative tools that are available and make genetic testing one of their tools would be better,” Ms Folbigg said.
While Ms Folbigg is seeking compensation for her wrongful conviction, her lawyer Rhanee Rego said there were still delays in receiving any form of payment.
“We’re relying on the goodwill of NSW politicians at the moment, and I can tell you, there’s been virtually no goodwill up until this point,” she told the summit.
“They still haven’t given us, they won’t give us a timeframe.”
Ms Folbigg said compensation from the state government would allow her to have closure from the wrongful imprisonment.
“Everything will have been answered. Everything will have been done, as much as can be done,” she said.
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
