After spending 20 years behind bars for the deaths of her four children, Kathleen Folbigg enjoyed her first hours of freedom by drinking champagne, eating steak and staring at the ocean.
Ms Follbigg, 55, has been living on a farm owned by her best friend Tracy Chapman in Glenreagh in northeastern NSW since her release earlier this month.
There she has taken walks in the fields, petted horses and gazed at the Pacific Ocean after spending almost exactly two decades in a cell.
“Right before I came out I had frosted glass windows so there was no view of that and a fence of colored material that was only about a foot away so there was nowhere to look at,” Ms Folbigg told Ms Chapman in footage broadcast by 7News Spotlight.
A dinner was held in honor of Kathleen Folbigg (pictured), where her friends and longtime supporters who helped secure her release drank champagne and ate steak
A dinner was held to celebrate her release, joined by friends and those who had campaigned on her behalf, drinking champagne and eating a steak.
She said the message she wants people to take from her story is that they can “survive.”
“You can get off of it and for me the future is everything and your future is everything,” she said.
Mrs Folbigg was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of manslaughter after her babies Patrick, Sarah, Laura and Caleb died in suspicious circumstances between 1989 and 1999.
But this month, NSW Attorney General Michael Daley confirmed she would be released from prison after new scientific evidence cast “reasonable doubt” about her case after she first served time in prison in 2003.
In the 7News footage, she explains why she thinks she has lost four children.
“I’ve always believed family was everything, so take that step forward and take the risk,” she said.
“I would say that’s why I lost four kids because I always… after Caleb there was ‘no, no, we can definitely do this right’, so Patrick was born. And then after Patrick, it was like ‘well, that didn’t work, so let’s have Sarah’ – a lot of discussions. And then there were so many discussions with Sarah that I almost didn’t have Laura.’
Kathleen Folbigg was out on Saturday in the historic town of Nana Glen on the NSW north coast following her release from prison earlier this month
Mrs Folbigg (pictured in 2005) was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of manslaughter in 2003 after her babies Patrick, Sarah, Laura and Caleb died in suspicious circumstances between 1989 and 1999.
She added: “I always think of myself as a very simple girl from Newcastle, who – although I may have lost four children – lived a very normal life.”
Ms Folbigg had been sentenced to 30 years in prison and was not eligible for parole until 2028, but had consistently maintained her innocence.
Her convictions have not been overturned. Her prison was pardoned because of “reasonable doubt” about the deaths of her children.
The decision came after an investigation – launched by Supreme Court Justice Tom Bathurst KC – found new evidence that the children died of natural causes.
Shortly after her release, it was revealed that Ms Folbigg would sit down with Channel Seven, with reports suggesting the price of the exclusive interview was $400,000, fending off fierce competition from the Nine Network.
On Saturday, Ms Folbigg was seen in public for the first time hugging friends in the historic village of Nana Glen on the north coast of NSW on Saturday, with Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr also in her entourage.
A full documentary will air on 7News Spotlight in the coming weeks.
Ms. Folbigg may also receive hefty compensation from the state government for her time behind bars.
Sunrise host Natalie Barr is seen with Ms Folbigg in Nana Glen – Channel 7 reportedly paid more than $400,000 to interview the former inmate
In the wake of the pardon, which does not overturn her conviction but frees her from prison, attorney Rhanee Rego revealed that damages may be at stake.
“We haven’t talked to her about this. She tries very hard to concentrate on taking one step at a time and not doing things in a hurry, because she has just been waiting to feel the grass at her feet, look at the sky and look at it for the first time in 20 years. watch the sunrise,” Ms. Rego said on June 6.
“Kathleen is still having a cup of tea, getting acquainted with normal life, and we’re just getting used to not talking to her in a prison about an AVL call.
‘We are taking it step by step, but in the near future we will certainly think about all the options available to her.
“We won’t rush her or force her to do anything. She doesn’t have to do it until she’s ready.’
Mrs Folbigg was convicted of the murder of her son Patrick (right), as well as the manslaughter of her first child Caleb (left)
Medical experts say there may have been a genetic mutation that caused the deaths of Sarah (left) and Laura Folbigg (right).
Ms Folbigg’s convictions must be overturned in the Court of Criminal Appeal before compensation options can be discussed.
Figures as low as $1 million to $20 million have already been speculated in the media.
“Not only has she lost one child, she has lost four and has been in prison for 20 years. The system has let her down every step of the way,” Ms Rego said.
“Instead of trying to understand why her children died, possibly through an inquest…we threw her in jail, locked her up and labeled her Australia’s worst female serial killer.”