Kathleen Folbigg wore a sparkling strapless gown as she married fiancé Bob Muir at one of Newcastle’s most historic venues on Saturday – marking a new chapter in her life after her convictions over the deaths of her children were overturned.
Ms Folbigg spent 20 years behind bars over the deaths of her four children before being released in June 2023 after new scientific evidence raised reasonable doubt about her convictions.
On Saturday, Ms Folbigg and Mr Muir, whom she has been friends with since childhood, tied the knot at Fort Scratchley Function Centre, about two hours north of Sydney.
The bride beamed as she arrived at the venue wearing a strapless beaded dress with a long skirt and sweetheart neckline.
Ms Folbigg lifted the gauzy material of her skirt as she walked with her bridesmaids – one of whom carried her bouquet of irises.
The bridal party wore dresses of different styles but in a uniform shade of navy blue and carried small bouquets of white roses.
Among the group appeared to be Rhanee Rego, Ms Folbigg’s longtime solicitor, who represented her during the legal efforts that ultimately led to her release and subsequent $2million compensation payment from the NSW government.
The group grinned and waved as they escorted the bride to the venue.
Kathleen Folbigg wore a sparkling gown as she married fiancé Bob Muir
The bride wore a strapless, beaded dress featuring a long skirt and daring sweetheart neckline
Ms Folbigg could be seen smiling alongside her bridal party as she entered the Fort Scratchley Function Centre in Newcastle
Mr Muir wore a black suit with an iris on the lapel and aviator-style sunglasses as he stepped from one of the cars.
The function centre is on the headland at the entrance to Newcastle Harbour and has panoramic views of the city, harbour and beaches.
The building is contemporary and hosts business presentations, workshops, parties and other corporate events.
However, the fort is a historic landmark in the city, built in 1882 and home to the only two land-based guns in Australia ever to be used in a naval engagement.
Speaking ahead of the wedding in December 2025, Mr Muir told news.com.au he ‘just gels with’ Ms Folbigg.
When the couple were spotted at a restaurant, Mr Muir said he did not want to give away too many details due to the negative press they had faced.
‘Friends have turned on her, she is caught up in the continual cycle of negativity and she deserves to be happy,’ he said.
‘All I can say is we are so similar in our tastes, ordering spaghetti as we chat with you, the way we view things, the similarities, we are very, very similar. We find it is comfortable. We have known each other since we were 11.’
Mr Muir was also seen cutting a sharp figure in a black suit with an iris on the lapel and sporting aviator-style sunglasses
The bridal party wore navy dresses in a range of styles
Pictured, the wedding party’s vehicles after their arrival at the function centre
The wedding marks a new chapter for Ms Folbigg who once wrote about finding love in a letter to former best friend Tracy Chapman while in prison.
She said it was ‘time… to find another love or at least a trusted companion for the remaining years I have left’ in a letter – one of many – released by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice during the inquiry that led to her release.
‘To hopefully remind me about LUST and all those glorious feelings that go with it.
‘LOL… I am a woman still, and since having years of delay in that department… I could be a danger to men and wish to make up for lost time, LOL,’ she added.
‘Time to live a life of my choosing, to experience everything and love life… They’d have to be pretty special to say the least.
‘My list of requirements are pretty high. I’m sure I’ll most likely be way too shy!’
In April, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed Ms Folbigg had changed her name to Cathy Lisa Brandon.
Her first name seems to be a play on her nickname ‘Kath’ while her middle name is perhaps a nod to the brief time she was known as ‘Liza Platt’ when she lived with her aunt as a young child.
Pictured, bridesmaids smiled and waved when they noticed photographers
The function centre is situated on the headland at the entrance to Newcastle Harbour with has panoramic views of the city, harbour and beaches
The bridal party flanked Ms Folbigg as they arrived at the venue
It appears Ms Folbigg changed her name by deed poll in mid 2024 with her ABN now bearing her new moniker.
When Ms Folbigg was offered the $2million compensation payout by the NSW government she described the amount as ‘a slap in the face’.
She has previously spoken of the struggles she has faced – both emotionally and financially – as she adapts to life outside jail.
‘I’ve moved back to where I went to high school and stuff but I just can’t find a rental, it’s so hard and I guess I’m single, have a dog, no job,’ she said earlier last year.
‘I’ve been lucky enough that my friend has let me put my stuff in storage and stay. It’s two years down the track so yeah I feel like things can be a bit of a struggle.’
Ms Folbigg was convicted of three counts of murder and one of manslaughter in 2003 after her babies Patrick, Sarah, Laura and Caleb died in suspicious circumstances between 1989 and 1999.
She has always maintained her innocence and, in 2018, NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman announced there would be a landmark Special Commission of Inquiry into her conviction.
New scientific and medical evidence relating to a rare genetic condition was presented before the inquiry that proved to be the groundbreaking missing link.
A rare genetic variation was found to be a ‘reasonably possible cause’ of Sarah and Laura’s deaths, according to cardiology and genetics experts.
Myocarditis – a disease which causes inflammation of the heart – was another possible cause of Laura’s death.
Patrick may have died from a neurogenetic disorder, which could have also hospitalised him before his death, experts told the inquiry.
Meanwhile, reasonable causes for their deaths undermined the tendency reasoning used to convict Ms Folbigg of Caleb’s manslaughter.
In June 2023, she was pardoned and walked free, with her conviction quashed later that year in December.
