Convicted of murdering her newborn daughter, Keli Lane has been granted temporary leave from prison to respond to a family emergency, as her anger grows over remaining behind bars after reaching the end of her minimum sentence.
The former elite water polo player made an urgent visit to her father, retired police officer Robert Lane, after he suffered a stroke and was taken to Sydney’s Northern Beaches Hospital last week.
Lane, 51, arrived at the hospital on Saturday under prison escort, accompanied by two security guards, before entering her father’s room alone.
She remained at his bedside for about three hours. When she left, Lane was wearing a white top and black leggings that covered the electronic monitoring device issued to her in prison.
Appearing visibly slimmer than in earlier photographs, Lane looked distressed as she took a phone call outside the hospital. She later departed with her mother, Sandra.
Lane has spent nearly 16 years in custody over the murder of her newborn daughter, Tegan, whose body has never been recovered.
Her father has remained a steadfast supporter throughout the trial and her imprisonment. But with two years still left on her sentence, Lane is reportedly worried that he may not be alive to see her return home.
‘It’s not fair. She has served her time and should be out on parole,’ a close friend told Our News Outlet.
Keli Lane, 51, arrived at the hospital under prison escort on Saturday, accompanied by two security guards, before visiting her father alone
She spent about three hours at the hospital and left wearing a white top and black leggings that concealed her electronic monitoring tag
Lane appeared considerably slimmer than she has in previous recent photographs
‘Rob is in his 80s now and very unwell, not being there to help is really upsetting for Keli and she is worried about how her mum will cope if the worst happens.’
In August, Lane’s long-term partner, Patrick Cogan, also raised concerns that she could lose both elderly parents before completing her sentence.
‘Keli desperately wants to spend time with them before they pass on,’ he said.
Robert Lane has consistently defended his daughter and has maintained that she was wrongly convicted of murdering baby Tegan.
‘Our daughter is in prison for a crime we don’t believe she committed. It’s a heavy burden to carry,’ he told the media after her sentencing.
He also challenged the prosecution’s case, saying he and Sandra could not accept that their granddaughter was dead when no body had been found.
‘This has been a harrowing experience for our entire family from start to finish,’ he said.
Lane was sentenced in 2011 to 18 years behind bars, including a non-parole period of 13 years and five months. Under that ruling, she became eligible for release in May 2024.
A friend told the Mail that Keli is desperate to spend time with her father while she still has the chance
The outline of Lane’s ankle monitor could be seen through her leggings
Keli Lane was pictured enjoying a day of freedom at Balmoral Beach back in July
She soaked up the sun with her long-term partner, Patrick Cogan
Lane wore a pink swimsuit and her ankle monitor was visible
But her application for parole was refused under NSW’s ‘no body, no parole’ laws, which prevent convicted murderers from being released unless they have cooperated satisfactorily with authorities to locate their victim’s remains.
The laws were introduced in 2022 following years of campaigning by the families of murder victims whose bodies have never been recovered.
They were designed to encourage convicted killers to reveal where they had disposed of their victims’ remains, giving grieving families the chance to recover and bury their loved ones.
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But Lane maintains she did not murder Tegan and has always insisted she handed the baby to her biological father, Andrew Morris or Norris, in September 1996.
‘Still to this day, after all these years, Keli says she is innocent, so how can she reveal where the body is?’ the friend said.
‘She would have been out already if she had admitted guilt and has no reason left to lie.
‘Even the judge who sentenced her supports her release and has criticised the decision to keep her in.’
Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Whealy KC, who presided over Lane’s trial, publicly criticised the legislation in 2024, arguing it was never intended to apply to prisoners in her circumstances.
‘I believe that had this law not been passed then she would be back in the community where she belongs,’ he said at the time.
Despite more than a decade behind bars, Lane has managed to maintain close bonds with both her parents, her long-term partner Patrick Cogan and her daughter, who was just nine at the time of sentencing.
‘Everyone visits Keli whenever they can and she calls home daily,’ said the friend.
‘It’s not been easy but she has been so dedicated to being a part of her daughter’s life, helping her with homework when she was younger and now being there for her as she becomes a young woman.
‘Her parents helped bring her up and Keli will forever be grateful to them for that and has always held on to the hope of being a family again.’
Lane’s daughter, now 25, has also publicly criticised the ‘no body, no parole’ legislation, arguing her mother poses no danger to the community.
‘My mum is not a risk to anyone. She is loved and wanted by her friends and family, and I love her deeply,’ she said in an emotional open letter in August.
It was September 12, 1996, when Lane went to Auburn Hospital in Sydney’s west and secretly gave birth to her baby girl Tegan. She is pictured outside court
The 25-year-old had moved back to Sydney after a stint overseas when her mother was granted weekend release in 2025 as part of a program to assimilate long-term inmates into the community.
In April 2025, Our News Outlet exclusively published photos of Lane at Fairlight rockpool enjoying time with Mr Cogan.
But six months later, she was served with an order for breaching the strict conditions surrounding home visits and was accused of misusing a prison-issued mobile phone provided for work.
Lane was reportedly devastated at the time and convinced she had been unfairly targeted because of her high-profile status behind bars.
‘It’s cruelty, there is no other explanation. Time and time again she is being punished for things,’ a close friend said.
‘So what if she used the phone a couple of times? She has access to calls in jail anyway and is allowed out on weekends with family – what difference does it make?’
In July, Lane won back her privileges and was pictured lapping up the winter sunshine with Mr Cogan.
It was September 12, 1996, when Lane went to Auburn Hospital in Sydney’s west and secretly gave birth to her baby girl Tegan.
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.
Her parents, partner and friends have all since claimed they had no idea she was pregnant, let alone that she’d given birth just two days earlier.
It wasn’t until a social worker noted inconsistencies in her file regarding 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.
