Is it a wrongful case?, Free again! Australia's "Most Poisonous Mother" Kills Four Children, Iron Window 20 Year Survey | Catherine | Iron Window

Catherine Forbig is 55 years old this year and has been in prison for 20 years. New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley announced on Monday that due to the latest investigation results, there is "reasonable suspicion" of his crime of killing four children, and therefore an unconditional pardon has been granted to him.

Australia was shocked throughout the country. This seems to be one of the most serious judicial injustices in the country.

In 2003, Catherine stepped out of the Supreme Court.

Catherine was imprisoned in 2003 for three counts of murder and one count of manslaughter. Prior to this, she had four children who had died over a decade since 1989. In each case, she was the person who discovered their bodies, although there is no physical evidence to suggest that she caused their deaths.

But the jury ultimately found guilty, based on the prosecution's argument that the probability of four infants from the same family dying from natural causes before the age of 2 is very low. "If that's all right, then pigs can all fly.".

They also noticed the contents of her diary, some of which were captured and interpreted as confessions.

In the 2019 investigation, the conclusion remained that there was no doubt that she had committed a crime.

In January 2019, Catherine, who was serving her sentence in the largest prison in Australia, appeared in court and claimed to have been beaten to the point of serious injury.

But in 2021, a new investigation resumed in 2022 after new scientific evidence provided a genetic explanation for the deaths of these children.

The deaths of four infants

Catherine was only 20 years old when she married Craig Forbig. She met this man in her hometown of Newcastle on the northern coast of New South Wales, Australia.

In less than a year, she became pregnant with Kaleb. Kaleb was born in February 1989 and only lived for 19 days. The following year, the Fabregas gave birth to another son, Patrick, who passed away at the age of eight months. Two years later, Sarah passed away at the age of 10 months. In 1999, Laura, the fourth and longest lived child of the Forbig family, passed away at the age of 18 months.

From left to right are Caleb, Patrick, Sarah, and Laura, respectively

The police investigation into the deaths of all four children began on the day of Laura's death, but Catherine was only arrested and charged more than two years later. At that time, her marriage had already broken down, and Catherine's husband was working with the police to file a lawsuit against her.

He handed over her diary to the police, and the prosecutor believed that it contained the deepest feelings of guilt that a mother had endured due to her role in the child's death.

The guilty evidence submitted by the prosecution

The examination of the baby's remains did not find any physical evidence of suffocation, but as there were no other reasonable reasons to explain their death, people's suspicions focused on Catherine.

In 2003, Judge Graham Bar sentenced Catherine to 40 years in prison, mentioning her dark history - her father killed her mother when she was only 18 months old, and many years of her upbringing were spent in foster care.

Katherine's childhood photos

According to court documents, Bar stated that there is "almost no possibility" of Catherine's reform. "If the responsibility of taking care of the child is entrusted to her, she will always be a dangerous person," the judge said. "This kind of thing must never happen again."

A caring mother

The initial conviction ruling now stands in stark contrast to the latest investigation.

The new survey depicts a completely different picture, portraying Catherine as a loving mother who is shocked and confused by the successive deaths of her babies.

Catherine and her daughter Sarah

When Daley ordered her release on Monday, he distributed a memorandum of investigation results from retired judge Tom Bathurst. After reviewing the evidence, Bathurst stated that he could not accept the statement that "Ms. Catherine is by no means a mother who cares about her children.".

In the case of two deceased girls - Sara and Laura - Bathurst discovered that a genetic mutation called CALM2-G114R had a "reasonable likelihood" of causing their death, and Sara may have died from myocarditis, a type of cardiac inflammation confirmed during autopsy.

Patrick suffered from unexplained ALTE at four months old, which was a clearly life-threatening event. He died at eight months old, and Bathurst discovered that he may have died from a potential neurogenic disease.

In the 2003 trial of Catherine, the prosecution used evidence of "coincidence and bias" to accuse her of also killing Kaleb. In other words, due to her alleged responsibility for the deaths of three children, she is likely to have also killed him.

However, if a brother or sisters has another cause of death, it means that the prosecution's accusation of Kaleb's murder is "self defeating".

Regarding her diary, Bathurst said, "The evidence suggests that these diaries were written by a sad and possibly depressed mother who blamed herself for each child's death, which is different from admitting that she murdered or otherwise harmed them."

The complete report by Bathurst will be released later.

Is pardon equivalent to innocence?

Daley told reporters on Monday that the pardon for Catherine does not mean her conviction has been revoked. "The only institution that can achieve this is the Criminal Appeals Court. The effect of a pardon is that she does not have to serve the remaining sentence."

He also stated that it is too early to discuss compensation now, as it would require Catherine to file a civil lawsuit against the New South Wales government or seek ex gratia payments from it.

Daly admits that after 20 years of believing in Catherine's guilt, some people may not accept her innocence. But he suggests that the events of the past two decades should evoke sympathy for a woman who has lost so many.

He said, "We have four little ones dead. We have a couple who have lost each other. A woman who has been in prison for 20 years, and a family that has never had a chance before. As long as it is a person, there will be some compassion."