By Niels Krogh Søndergaard and Jeannette Bylov, AAU Communication and Public Affairs. Translated by Sinem Tunc, AAU Communication and Public Affairs. Photos: Private

56-year-old Kathleen Folbigg has spent 20 years in prison for what has now been revealed as false allegations. In 2003, the then 35-year-old Kathleen Folbigg was convicted in Australia for suffocating her four children. The case was reopened following pressure from researchers worldwide. In June of this year, she was pardoned and released as the research team from AAU, along with colleagues from other parts of the world, presented new evidence suggesting a natural cause for the children's deaths.

Yesterday marked the conclusion of the legal process, and the verdict was definitively overturned, as reported by the Australian media outlet ABC. According to tv2.dk and ABC, Folbigg spoke to the press outside the courthouse where the decision to annul the conviction was made. She stated that she should never have been imprisoned and that "the system preferred to accuse me rather than accept that sometimes children can die suddenly, unexpectedly."

- We do not quite grasp the enormity of this case ourselves. On the surface, it's about a woman in prison, but fundamentally, it's about the role of science in the judicial system, said Professor Michael Toft Overgaard.

Explosive research findings

The case has been one of Australia's most talked-about and controversial criminal cases, and in 2019, the Danish research group was contacted by an Australian support group for Kathleen Folbigg. The group had discovered that in Denmark, there were specialists in a type of genetic defect carried by only about 130 people worldwide.

Kathleen Folbigg is one of the carriers of this genetic defect. Through analyses of the heel prick samples taken from the four children after birth, researchers were able to demonstrate that the mutation had been inherited by the daughters, who likely died from cardiac arrest due to the genetic defect. This defect weakens the function of the protein calmodulin, which is known to cause severe heart rhythm disturbances when defective.

In 2021, 90 international genetics and cardiology researchers urged the state governor to release Kathleen Folbigg. Subsequently, both Michael Toft Overgaard and Mette Nyegaard participated in hearings regarding the reopening of the case, which led to her pardon and now the annulment of the conviction.

During the second hearing in February 2023, Mette Nyegaard shared her thoughts on the research group's work and approach to the case:

- We do not take a stance on guilt. That is the judge's job. For us, it's about presenting scientific data and ensuring all parties understand what we're saying. We've been told that since we were here in November, the judge has been studying genetics, so in a way, it's already a small victory for science.