An investigation into Kathleen Forbigg’s conviction for murdering four children has uncovered a letter her mother wrote from prison about the “black mood” mentioned in her diary.
Key Point:
- More than 100 pages of letters Folbig wrote in prison have been released
- She calls prison a ‘test of sanity’
- The 55-year-old defendant has five years left on his 25-year sentence.
A second judicial inquiry considers the conviction of Forbigg, 55, for the deaths of Sarah, Lara, Caleb and Patrick, who were under the age of two.
They died separately in the Hunter region of NSW between 1989 and 1999.
At her 2003 trial, the King claimed that Forbigg had suffocated the children, but she said they died of natural causes.
The discovery of a rare genetic mutation that causes sudden death in her two daughters has cast doubt on her beliefs by some experts, but her two sons had the mutation. Not found.
More than 100 pages of letters were submitted to the investigation this week, and Forbigg wrote to her friend Tracy Chapman while in prison.
In a letter dated over the years, Forbigg wrote that she “got a massive raw deal” in court, struggled to cope in prison, and made noise. I woke up in the middle of the night because of
“I’ve been trying to keep depression at bay. It’s not an easy battle here,” she wrote in March 2003.
“[The noise]is so bad at times. I have a nasty idea about noise makers[that’s]not very similar to mine.
“Stuffin [sic] Just put a tissue in your ear… mute enough to get a good night’s sleep. It is indeed a test of sanity and control. Give me the screaming kids anytime after this experience. ”
In a February 2005 letter, Forbigg wrote:
In May of the same year, she wrote that an earlier diary entry “sounded outrageous.”
Forbigg explained that the “dark mood” she referred to in her diary was her depression.
“Not black as evil, or nasty and murderous, just dark as black,” Folbigg wrote.
“(Diary) was used to ‘throw away’ all the negative emotions, feelings and thoughts I’ve ever had. ”
The Crown had claimed that before Forbigg was convicted, her diary containing entries about her struggles with motherhood was a confession of guilt.
But experts who subsequently analyzed this material would attest that it was a grieving mother’s coping mechanism.
Genetic experts have told investigators that the cause of her two daughters’ deaths was likely CALM2G114R, a rare genetic mutation.
Forbigg has five years left on his 25-year sentence.
The investigation continues before former Chief Justice Tom Bathurst.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-15/kathleen-folbigg-letters-and-diary-entries-reveal-dark-times/101975654 Kathleen Forbigg’s Letters and Diary Entries Released for Investigation Reveal Dark Moments in Prison
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