 On 8 January 1969, Kathleen Folbigg's biological father, Thomas John Britton, murdered her mother, also named Kathleen, by stabbing her twenty-four times.Following her father's arrest on the day after the murder, Folbigg was made a ward of the state and placed into foster care with a couple.On 18 July 1970, she was removed from their care and placed into Bidura Children's Home.