Kathleen Folbigg is an Australian woman who was wrongfully convicted in 2003 of murdering her four infant children.
She was pardoned in 2023 after 20 years in jail following a long campaign for justice by her supporters, and had her convictions overturned on appeal a few months later.
No direct evidence of the imputed crimes was ever found, but in the personal diary discovered by her husband and dutifully handed over to the police, several entries seemed to suggest she might have harmed, and indeed murdered, her children.
She was arrested in 2001 and convicted in 2003, sentenced to 40 years with a non-parole period of 30 years.
Kathleen Folbigg maintained her innocence, however, claiming the four children had died from natural causes.
Kathleen Folbigg Parents: Meet Thomas Britton, Kathleen Donavan
Kathleen Folbigg’s biological parents were Thomas Britton and Kathleen May Donovan.
Thomas Britton was a violent and abusive man who killed Kathleen May Donovan in 1968 by stabbing her 24 times in front of their toddler daughter Kathleen. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in jail in 1999.
Kathleen May Donovan was a young mother who suffered from postnatal depression and anxiety.
She had a difficult relationship with Thomas Britton and tried to leave him several times before he murdered her.
Kathleen Folbigg’s adoptive parents were Neville and June Donovan. They were a loving and caring couple who raised Kathleen as their own daughter. They did not tell her about her biological parents until she was an adult.
They supported her during the deaths of her children and stood by her during her trial and imprisonment. They died in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
