Natalie Barr has given fans a peak behind the curtain ahead of her interview with Kathleen Folbigg, revealing more about the now free woman.
Ms Folbigg, 55-year-old, will sit down for one of her first interviews after she spent 20 years behind bars after being convicted of the murder of three of her children and the manslaughter of a fourth child between 1989 and 1999.
She remained firm in her innocence throughout her time in prison, maintaining that she didn’t kill or harm her children Patrick, Sarah, Laura and Caleb, who each died suddenly before they reached their second birthday.
Ms Folbigg will discuss with the Sunrise host how she was called a “kid killer” as well as the toll of spending decades in jail.
The celebrated journalist said she didn’t know what she expected ahead of the interview, but Ms Folbigg surprised her.
“She didn’t seem broken after two decades in jail. She appeared strong, articulate, determined, thoughtful and happy,” she wrote.
“…She was open to speak to and spend time with. I think I expected her to be bitter.
“I kept trying to put myself in her position and think about how I’d be, but of course none of us ever will be.”
Ms Barr said she expected Ms Folbigg to “only tell her story once” before moving out of the spotlight to live a quieter life.
“She was nervous before the big interview. She was determined to tell her story… all of it,” Ms Barr wrote.
“But as she sat there and told us what it was like when it dawned on her that she was the main suspect in her children’s deaths, how she felt when the guilty verdict was read out and what the years in prison were really like, I couldn’t help but count back.”
Ms Folbigg will address how she was called a “kid killer” and is expected to speak about the toll her 20 years behind bars took on her.
The program will also speak to Lindy Chamberlain who was convicted and then pardoned of killing her own daughter.
“There is nothing more horrendous than being accused of killing your own child,” Ms Chamberlain says in a preview of the program.
A key scientific breakthrough proved the crucial step to freeing Ms Folbigg, with expert testimony at an inquiry into her convictions helping recast her from killer to grieving mother.
The inquiry heard evidence from experts about new scientific developments that could potentially prove some of her children died as a result of a genetic mutation, while the others died of natural causes linked to medical issues.
A scientific report suggested that the deaths of Laura, who died at 18 months, and Sarah, who died at 10 months, were linked to a rare genetic variant.
Medical experts during the inquiry discussed the possibility the two girls had the rare genetic mutations CALM2G114R – believed to be linked to long QT syndrome, a heart-signalling disorder that can cause fast, chaotic heartbeats or arrhythmias.
The experts proved that Ms Folbigg shared the same genetic mutation as her daughters.
This fatal genetic mutation was not discovered by medical scientists until years after the deaths and would not have been investigated at the time, the inquiry was told.
The inquiry was also told how Patrick had been taken to hospital in 1990 after his parents found him struggling to breathe, with the then four-month-old reportedly blue when he reached the facility.
Leading neurologist and federal MP Monique Ryan testified at the inquiry that Patrick had likely died due to a brain injury suffered during the medical episode.
“He had an uncontrolled epileptic seizure which more likely than not caused his death,” she told the inquiry.
“Sometimes when babies have seizures they can be relatively subtle, but they (the parents) would recognise the babies were having unusual events, even if they didn’t recognise them to be a seizure.”
The inquiry was unable to determine the exact cause of death of Ms Folbigg’s eldest child Caleb, who died just 19 days after his birth in 1989. It is likely he also died of natural causes.
The Sunrise host’s interview of Ms Folbigg will air on Channel 7’s Spotlight program on Sunday night.