Baby killer Keli Lane will remain behind bars after her bid for freedom was rejected by the NSW State Parole Authority on Friday.
Lane, 49, had a private meeting with the Authority where a parole order was considered ahead of May 12, when her minimum prison sentence of 13 years and five months comes to an end.
However, the order was rejected due to NSW’s new controversial “no body, no parole” laws which were introduced in 2022 off the back of the high-profile murder trial of former teacher Chris Dawson.
Lane was found guilty by a jury in 2010 of murdering her newborn daughter Tegan whom she gave birth to in 1996 at Auburn hospital.
She claims she gave the child to her biological father, a man named Andrew ‘Norris or Morris’ who has never been found. She was sentenced to a maximum of 18 years in jail.
In a statement released just before 12pm on Friday, the NSW State Parole Authority said it was not satisfied Lane had “co-operated satisfactorily in police investigations, or other actions, to identify the location of Tegan.”
“Accordingly … the Authority has concluded that it must not make a parole order directing the release of the offender,” the state said.
The parole determination said Lane had been given the opportunity to provide any new information as to the whereabouts of Tegan’s, however, had not been “forthcoming”.
Instead she requested via her legal counsel a hearing review of the parole decision.
“At this stage, the offender is not in a position to provide assistance … and urges that the Authority hold a hearing to have these matters properly ventilated,” her lawyer told the Authority.
However, the Authority said Lane could not be considered for a hearing in open court under the “no body, no parole” laws as she had not assisted police to identify the location of the victim’s body.
“The offender has not provided any information at all since she was sentenced,” the Authority said in the determination.
Lane has always maintained her innocence and the baby’s body has never been found.
Similar “no body, no parole” laws are also in place in the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.
Earlier this year, Lane was allegedly caught with a mobile phone landing her in Silverwater women’s prison. She had previously been working at a milk processing plant at a transitional centre, however, lost the privilege after being caught with the phone.
It was also revealed last month that Lane was also being investigated for alleged inappropriate behaviour at an external worksite.
More to come