After serving 20 years in prison, an Australian mother convicted of killing her four young children has been pardoned and released, marking the conclusion of what authorities referred to as a “terrible ordeal.”

Kathleen Folbigg, dubbed “Australia’s worst female serial killer,” was found guilty in 2003 of murdering three of her children and the manslaughter of another.

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While prosecutors argued that she suffocated the children, Folbigg maintained that their deaths resulted from natural causes.

In 2021, a petition signed by numerous scientists suggested that new forensic evidence indicated the unexplained deaths may have been linked to rare genetic mutations or congenital abnormalities.

The New South Wales Attorney-General stated that a recent inquiry established “reasonable doubt” surrounding the convictions, leading to Folbigg’s pardon.