‘Disgraceful’: Ex homicide cop Peter Hogan says Kathleen Folbigg must be compensated for injustices

Former homicide cop Peter Hogan says Kathleen Folbigg’s diary entries should have been seen through the eyes of a grieving mother trying to cope, not those of a “sinister circumstance”.

A former NSW homicide detective is “angry and upset” about the injustices Kathleen Folbigg has suffered and says she deserves an apology and compensation for what she has gone through.

Peter Hogan made the brave and unusual decision to speak up in support of Ms Folbigg’s bid for compensation, saying what happened to her should be a “case study” to prevent grave injustices from happening again.

“SIDS deaths are unexplainable, for Kathleen to be blamed and convicted, as the judicial inquiry found, was wrong and unreserved apologies need to be issued,” he said.

Kathleen Folbigg is seeking compensation so she can move on with her life after 20 years behind bars. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Mr Hogan, a cop who has seen his share of murders, accidental deaths and everything in between, is ashamed of how Ms Folbigg has been treated and believes she should be adequately compensated for the 20 years she spent in jail after being convicted of killing her four children.

Behind bars Ms Folbigg was called a rock spider, taunted with the names of her dead babies, told she would be raped with a barbed-wire-covered broom stick and beaten to a pulp by other inmates.

But arguably the most disturbing thing that happened to Ms Folbigg during her two decades behind bars was being used as a “dummy” for strip searches; made to stand naked while new recruits were taught how to search her for hidden drugs.

She has launched a multimillion-dollar compensation claim.

“Injustice isn’t the right word, it’s not strong enough to describe what she has been subjected to” Mr Hogan said.

“It’s disgraceful what Kathleen has gone through.

“She deserves whatever compensation she feels she is owed because I don’t know how anyone could put a figure on it.

“I honestly can’t think of a figure that’s enough, $20 million is not enough but whatever the outcome I pray that it brings her inner peace.”

Ex NSW detective Peter Hogan says what Ms Folbigg has gone through is “disgraceful”. Picture: Supplied

Mr Hogan, who talks about old cases that haunt him on the Watching Two Detectives podcast with former colleague Scott Rogan, says he understood a forensic pathologist referring the deaths of the four children to police to reinvestigate.

But, he said: “I believe it is vitally important, just because we cannot explain someone’s death determined as natural causes or SIDS, this does not mean that someone must be held responsible for something that is ­unexplained.

“It’s quite possibly the fact that there were four deaths and this made investigators feel pressured to find someone responsible, it would be a difficult situation to be in.”

He said when you looked at the post mortem findings of the four children they were not the same. There are identifiable differences.

“Now that we know more, medical experts have provided new medical and scientific evidence, acknowledging what this woman went through is something everyone should do,” he said.

Mr Hogan said he hoped Ms Folbigg’s diaries, used to convict her, would today “be interpreted differently, and be seen through the eyes of a grieving mother, trying to cope and not those of a sinister circumstance.”

Kathleen Folbigg outside court after having bail refused for charges of murdering her four infant children in 2001.

Kathleen Folbigg with her daughter Sarah at her naming ceremony.

“Diary writing is a strategy, a coping mechanism psychologists recommend for people dealing with distress, I hope this is how they would be interpreted today,” he said.

Ms Folbigg was convicted over all four deaths, and sentenced to 30 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 25 years. 

She served 20 of those years before a landmark Special Commission of Inquiry found reasonable doubt over her guilt. 

Former cop Peter Hogan believes $20 million is not enough for the injustices Kathleen Folbigg has suffered. Picture: Sam Ruttyn.

New scientific and medical evidence surrounding a rare genetic condition was presented to retired Chief Justice Tom Bathurst KC, who led the inquiry. 

The inquiry heard the medical evidence could explain the deaths of three of Ms Folbigg’s children.

It heard a genetic condition could have caused the deaths of Sarah and Laura, while other evidence found that an underlying neurogenetic epilepsy could have caused Patrick’s death.

Mr Hogan said former chief justice Bathurst’s 619-page report “can’t just be filed and forgotten” because this could happen again.

“It needs to be a case study of ‘what has gone wrong in our justice system’ so it doesn’t happen again.

“Kathleen Folbigg deserves her compensation to be settled without further complication, so she can hopefully find her inner peace, she has been through enough, and surely the state owes her that much.”

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