Almost 15 years after she was convicted of murdering her newborn daughter, former Olympian Keli Lane has been spotted frolicking in the sunshine with her boyfriend while released from jail for the long weekend.
The one-time water polo champion was clearly enjoying a taste of freedom as she soaked up the sun at Fairlight Beach rockpool near Manly in Sydney’s northern beaches with long-term partner Patrick Cogan on Good Friday.
The 50-year-old, who was sporting a red, tropical print bikini paired with a black electronic ankle monitor, looked almost unrecognisable with her formerly blonde hair now dark.
Noticeable on her ring finger was a chunky silver band from Cogan – which she is banned from wearing while serving out her 13.5 year minimum jail sentence at Dillwynia Correctional Centre – but quickly slipped back on for her release.
Lane was clearly still conscious of being recognised so close to her old stomping ground as she hid her face behind large sunglasses for much of the outing.
The decision to grant Lane weekend day release will undoubtedly shock many who have followed her high-profile case after she was denied parole in a bombshell decision just last year.
Lane was found guilty of the 1996 murder of her daughter, Tegan, and was sentenced to a maximum of 18 years in jail with a non-parole period of 13 years and five months.
At the time of sentencing she was made eligible for parole in 2024 but her application was denied under New South Wales’ ‘no body, no parole’ laws, introduced in 2022 while she was incarcerated.
Almost 15 years after she was convicted of murdering her newborn daughter, former Olympian, Keli Lane has been spotted in public for the first time
The 50-year-old was sporting a red, tropical print bikini paired with a black electronic ankle monitor during an outing at Fairlight rockpool on Sydney’s northern beaches on Good Friday
Lane’s electronic ankle monitor didn’t deter her from diving into the water at the busy pool
Lane’s full prison sentence won’t finish until December 2028, but a Corrective Services NSW Spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they have a ‘statutory obligation,’ to start the release process
Lane and Patrick Cogan have known each other since they were teenagers and reconnected just before she was arrested in 2009 (together, pre-prison)
The laws were introduced following Chris Dawson’s high-profile murder trial.
Dawson, who like Lane has maintained his innocence, was found guilty of killing his wife Lynette back in 1982. Her body has never been found.
Lane’s full prison sentence won’t finish until December 2028, but a Corrective Services NSW spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they have an ‘obligation’ to start the release process.
‘Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) has a statutory obligation to prepare offenders for release from prison and reintegration into the community, through short periods of external leave,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Offenders are risk-assessed before being granted external leave and approval is determined on a case-by-case basis.
‘CSNSW cannot comment on the circumstances of individual offenders due to privacy legislation.’
External leave including work release, education leave, day and weekend leave can be approved for offenders before or following the expiry of their non-parole period.
While on her weekend break from her halfway house in, Sydney’s western suburbs, Lane wasted no time diving head first into the busy pool, splashing around alongside Cogan.
Wrapping their arms around each other, the pair looked smitten as they sunbaked, swam and read together.
Cogan is now Lane’s sponsor for her weekend jaunts, signing her in and out of jail as well as taking full responsibility for her whereabouts during her time away
While on her weekend break from her halfway house in, Sydney’s western suburbs, Lane wasted no time diving head first into the busy pool, splashing around alongside Cogan
The couple spent the night at Cogan’s $2.6million home before hitting the beach again the following day
Face hidden behind sunglasses, Lane was clearly conscious of being recognised so close to her old stomping ground in Manly
Cogan is now Lane’s sponsor for her weekend jaunts, signing her in and out of jail as well as taking full responsibility for her whereabouts during her time away
The couple have known each other since they were teenagers and reconnected just before Lane was arrested in 2009.
The father of two has since shown unwavering public support for Lane and is a regular during visiting hours.
Cogan is also now Lane’s sponsor for her weekend jaunts, signing her in and out of jail as well as taking full responsibility for her whereabouts during her time away.
After their day in the sunshine, the couple spent the night at Cogan’s $2.6million home before heading back to the beach the following day.
It was September 12, 1996, when Lane went to Auburn Hospital in outer western Sydney and delivered baby Tegan in secret.
Two days later, having not yet been discharged, Lane snuck out of the ward with Tegan around 12pm and arrived back at her parents’ home on the Northern Beaches alone by 3pm.
That night, dressed in white, she attended a friend’s wedding with her then-partner, former rugby player, Duncan Gillies.
Cogan and Lane have known each other since they were teens, and he’s been vocally supportive of her since her 2009 arrest
Lane enjoyed the sunshine alongside many other families on the Easter long weekend
Her parents, partner and friends have all since claimed they had no idea she was pregnant, let alone that she’d just given birth that day.
It wasn’t until a social worker noted inaccuracies in her file as to Tegan’s whereabouts and filed a missing person’s report that Lane was arrested.
Lane has always maintained her innocence and claims she handed the newborn to the biological father, a man called Andrew Morris or Norris.
During the trial Lane’s bizarre love life came under scrutiny after it was revealed that between the ages of 17 and 24 she’d accidentally fallen pregnant five times.
Many of the pregnancies were the result of affairs and kept a secret from the biological fathers.
The first two times, Lane terminated her pregnancies. The next three times she carried her babies to term without telling a soul.
Two of the babies, born either side of Tegan, were adopted out.
However, none of this deterred Cogan from attending the trial and supporting Lane.
It was during her incarceration at Dillwynia Correctional Centre in Sydney ‘s north-west that Cogan gave Lane this chunky silver ring
While the pair hoped Lane would be found not guilty and had planned a future together, they instead continued their relationships via strict prison visits, phone calls and love letters.
Clearly weathering the test of time, the pair looked like any other happy couple on Easter Weekend, holding hands and stealing kisses.
It was during her incarceration at Dillwynia Correctional Centre in Sydney‘s north-west that Cogan’s gave Lane the silver ring.
During the same time Lane was sexually assaulted on a daily basis by prison guard Wayne Astill.
Her key testimony against Astill helped convict him of multiple sexual assaults – but Lane now says that speaking out has put a target on her back.
She is suing NSW Corrective Services and the state government for $2million in a civil case alleging other prison officers are now making her life hell.
She was behind bars when Astill began forcing himself on her during his 20-year reign of terror at the jail.
But Lane alleges that after revealing how Astill raped her in prison offices and storerooms, other guards regularly trashed her cell and revoked her privileges to ‘teach her a lesson.’
Convicted baby killer Keli Lane, 50, (pictured in 2006) was alleged sexually assaulted daily at the Dillwynia Correctional Centre in Sydney’s north-west by former prison guard Wayne Astill.
In 2023, Astill was jailed for a maximum of 23 years for abusing his position and assaulting women at the maximum-security facility.
One of those incidents was centred around the ring in which Lane claims she was pinned down while it was forcibly removed.
‘My belief is that they were very aware that that was a very precious item for me,’ Lane told the court.
‘Because obviously you don’t have a lot in jail – and that it was from my partner and it was very important to me and I believed that they were trying to remove it to upset me further.’
In 2023, Astill was jailed for a maximum of 23 years for abusing his position and assaulting women at the maximum-security facility.
Astill was a former prison officer who was promoted to chief correctional officer at the prison before his arrest in 2019.
He was found guilty of 27 charges, including aggravated sexual and indecent assault, prompting a state government inquiry into how he escaped justice for decades
The inquiry handed down its report in March 2024 and found Astill should ‘never have been employed’ in the state’s prisons.
It also stated ‘corruption or incompetence’ led to Corrective Services NSW hiring him in 1999.
In documents lodged with NSW Supreme Court, Lane alleges she was targeted because of her crime, the media interest in the case and for her ‘continual fight for innocence.’
Lane’s ordeal at the hands of Astill was revealed by Greens state MP Sue Higginson who used parliamentary privilege to reveal Lane was a witness in the government inquiry.
‘Keli is treated differently than other prisoners and everyone inside knows it,’ a prison insider revealed.
‘It’s been an ongoing issue and she has finally had enough.
‘She has just lost all trust in the system and believes she is being singled out because fingers have been pointed at officers who turned a blind eye to Wayne’s behaviour for years.’
The court also heard that some officers believed her ring was a gift from Astill which is why they were trying to remove it.
‘Isn’t that an issue in itself that no one even bothered to ask me before they pinned me down and wanted to take it off?’ Lane said.
She is suing NSW Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong and the state’s Corrections Commissioner Leon Taylor, alleging she has faced regular harassment in jail.
In documents lodged with NSW Supreme Court, Lane alleges she was targeted because of her crime, the media interest in the case and for her ‘continual fight for innocence.’
When she appeared via videolink on March 4, she told the court she will make two claims – one for personal damages and the other seeking a judicial review into her case.