An Australian woman has been charged with murdering her four infant children over a 10-year period between 1989 and 1999.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or epileptic fits had been blamed for the deaths of the two boys and two girls but a court was told on yesterday all four were suffocated by their mother.
Ms Kathleen Folbigg (33) did not enter a plea in the magistrates court in the Hunter Valley, 74 miles north of Sydney.
The children were aged 19 days, eight months, 11 months and 15 months when they died in various homes in the Hunter Valley.
Local media reports of Ms Folbigg's brief court appearance said police had listening devices placed in her home which recorded her rehearsing her lines for court.
"In all the cases the defendant was the person who located the kids. In all cases it was a short time after death and the bodies were still warm," a police sergeant told the court. "All deaths were caused by smothering and all deaths are homicides."
Local media have reported police now have Ms Folbigg's diary and forensic evidence but a solicitor representing her said the police case was based on suspicion, not evidence.