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

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It was just after midday on Monday, March 1, 1999, when a frantic call came through to the New South Wales Emergency Services line. A panic-stricken woman was on the other line. Um, my baby's not breathing, she exclaimed. The operator asked how old the baby was. Twenty months, the woman replied, her voice bordering on hysterical. She told the operator to hang on for a minute as she was in the middle of performing CPR. A moment later, she reported that she couldn't get a heartbeat. The operator asked the woman if she knew what was wrong with her baby. The woman responded, but the operator wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly. She asked the woman to repeat herself. I've had three go already, the woman said.
Craig Folbigg had always wanted children. Having been raised in a large and loving family, he looked forward to the day he could start one of his own. That desire only intensified after Craig's mother unexpectedly died of a stroke when Craig was a teenager and his father subsequently remarried. Craig worked hard to save money and carve out a stable life for himself so that he'd be ready to settle down when the time was right. In 1985, Craig was enjoying a night out with friends at a Newcastle nightclub when he met a young woman named Kathleen on the dance floor. Although Kathleen was six years younger than Craig and had only recently moved out of home for the first time, he was instantly drawn to her. She had a confidence and cheekiness that he found very endearing. The two immediately hit it off and were virtually inseparable from the get-go, finding great joy in one another's company. Kathleen saw Craig as her knight in shining armor. Not only was he extremely charming with the gift of the gab, Kathleen liked that Craig came from a large and welcoming family. Having been raised in a foster family herself, she viewed family as the most important thing in life and she shared Craig's dreams of having children. The two fell head over heels in love and by 1988 they were married and living in their first home, a two bedroom weatherboard house in the northwestern Newcastle suburb of Mayfield. Everything seemed to be falling into place for the newly wedded Folbigs when in May that year, Kathleen discovered she was pregnant. Although this wasn't planned, it was very exciting news for them both. Kathleen fully embraced her journey into motherhood, making changes to her diet, forbidding Craig from smoking inside and preparing the house for the baby. Her pregnancy proceeded without a hitch. She didn't even experience any morning sickness. As her due date grew closer, Craig received a compensation payout for a workplace injury he'd sustained and they were able to pay off their mortgage, clearing themselves of all debt before the baby arrived. It was as good a start to married life as any couple could have hoped for.
After a difficult 18-hour labour, Caleb Folbigg was born on February 1, 1989 As the now 21-year-old Kathleen held her baby boy for the first time, she felt a great sense of accomplishment, thinking to herself, I did it, this is what I'm on this planet for. Other than some slight respiratory issues that were common in newborns, Caleb passed all of his health checks with flying colours. The mother and son stayed in hospital for four days while doctors monitored Caleb and while Kathleen recovered from some complications caused by the epidural she'd been given. When they were allowed to go home, the new parents set Caleb up in his nursery in the sun room next to their bedroom and settled in to their new routine as a family of three. Kathleen had some trouble breastfeeding, so opted to bottle feed Caleb instead. All was going well, but she was a little concerned about the way he was feeding. It looked like he was having trouble breathing through his nose while sucking on the bottle, as though he couldn't breathe and drink at the same time. When Caleb was two and a half weeks old, Kathleen took him to see a pediatrician who concluded that he had a floppy larynx, which was causing stridor upon inhalation. In other words, he was a noisy breather. The pediatrician assured Kathleen that it was a very common and mild problem that would resolve itself over time. A couple of days later, on Sunday February 19, Craig had the day off from his relatively new job at a local car yard, and he took Kathleen and Caleb to visit his brother who lived nearby. It was an enjoyable day, and Caleb fell asleep in the car on the drive home. At 8pm, Kathleen dressed Caleb for bed and gave him a bottle before putting him down in his cane bassinet in the nursery. Although it was summer, their house was drafty overnight, so Kathleen wrapped Caleb in his bunny rug and covered him with a white blanket. She and Craig stayed up for a bit longer before kissing Caleb good night and going to bed themselves at around 10 o'clock. Caleb typically woke up every three or four hours overnight and it was Kathleen's job to tend to him. She would wake up the second she heard his cries and feed him in the lounge room before settling him back to sleep in his bassinet. Craig had always been an incredibly heavy sleeper and he never even stirred during these nighttime feedings. But at around 2.50am on Monday February 20, Craig was suddenly jolted awake by the sound of Kathleen screaming. My baby, she cried. Something is wrong with my baby.