Tortoise Investigates Three is murder | The Lab Detective Ep1
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Jul 22, 2025 Journalist Rachel Sylvester dives into the chilling narrative of Australia's worst serial killer and the mothers ensnared in tragic accusations. The podcast dissects the flawed statistics that led to wrongful convictions, spotlighting the harrowing tales of Kathleen Folbigg and Sally Clark, both victims of misapplied justice. It critiques the legal system's reliance on inaccurate expert testimonies and challenges societal biases against mothers, illuminating the urgent need for a reevaluation of how child death cases are prosecuted.
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Arrest Shock After Repeated Infant Loss
- Kathleen Folbigg describes the shock of police knocking and being arrested after losing four infants over ten years.
- She believed the system would do the right thing even as suspicion mounted and she faced charges in 2001-2003.
Genetics Can Reframe Convictions
- Carola Vinuesa's genetic work found evidence suggesting Kathleen was wrongly imprisoned.
- The case shows modern genetics can overturn past miscarriages of justice in infant-death prosecutions.
A Pattern Of Mothers Prosecuted
- Multiple UK trials in the 1990s saw mothers accused of killing babies amid limited scientific understanding of sudden infant death.
- Roy Meadow acted as a recurring authoritative voice linking those convictions with a sweeping theory about multiple cot deaths.