Case 338: The Folbigg Children (Part 1/2)

April 4, 2026·1 hr 32 min·5 clips

A panic-stricken Australian mother on a 1999 emergency call says her baby isn't breathing — and that she's had three go already.

The first sound is panic on the phone. A woman calls New South Wales Emergency Services just after midday on Monday, March 1, 1999, saying her baby is not breathing. When the operator asks the child's age, the answer is 20 months. Then comes the detail that changes the room: three have gone already. Craig had wanted children, and that longing sits next to the call without much need for explanation. The episode lets family hope and immediate fear sit uncomfortably close. Laura becomes the focus after that. At 12 days old, she is taken for an overnight sleep study, where the doctor finds mild central apnea and more concerning obstructive apnea. The monitor changes the house. Electrodes connect Laura to a device beside her bassinet, tracking her breathing, heartbeat, and whether it has been switched on or off. Sleep now has a machine beside it. The alarm can wake Craig quickly, but it also brings false alarms and the old rush of fear. Reassurance comes in pieces. By seven months, Kathleen feels ready to stop using the monitor, taking Laura's growth and health as signs that the danger has eased. Her first birthday arrives. The following year, a larger pool party brings relatives and friends around that relief. Then the calm gives way. Near the end, Craig talks about losing his wife and the two most precious things to him, while grief and anger start turning into retaliation. After a police interview and several tense days, Kathleen says she is stressed. Craig answers with the thought that maybe he killed the kids.

As heard by us

A careful, distressing Casefile opener where medical uncertainty and a collapsing marriage carry equal weight.

Casefile opens its two-part Folbigg Children case with the 1999 emergency call about 20-month-old Laura, then works backward through Craig and Kathleen Folbigg's family history and the earlier deaths that made that call so loaded.

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Why you'd press play

You hear "I've had three go already," and the whole case opens.

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