Australian inquiry asks whether mom smothered her 4 children

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian inquiry has began investigating whether a woman convicted almost two decades ago of smothering her four children to death might be innocent. The inquiry is the second judicial investigation into Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions and reflect advances in genetic science that add weight to her argument that her children died of natural causes. The start of the new inquiry Monday focused on a rare genetic variant present in both daughters. A lawyer says the variant might cause sudden death in young children. Research on the variant was published last year, after a 2019 inquiry found no reasonable doubt of her guilt.