As convicted child killer Keli Lane walked free from jail after almost 14 years behind bars, she returned straight into the arms of her devoted partner Patrick Cogan.
The PE teacher and father of two has remained Lane’s biggest supporter during her incarceration and it would seem nothing – not even a murder conviction or jail romances – can come between them.
On Wednesday, our exclusive photos revealed the happy couple – now rumoured to be engaged – soaking up the sun, swimming and stealing kisses on Good Friday, while the 50-year-old prisoner was out on weekend release.
Cogan was Lane’s childhood sweetheart.
They grew up together in Sydney’s northern beaches and dated as teenagers.
Lane was found guilty murdering her baby daughter Tegan in 1996 after she gave birth to her in secret and returned home alone hours later.
At the time of the crime, Lane was a golden girl in the affluent suburb of Manly, a star water polo player and Olympic hopeful.
Her then-boyfriend Duncan Gillies was handsome rugby player and her dad Robert was a senior detective. There was no doubt she was popular and well-liked.
Cogan was Lane’s childhood sweetheart
Keli Lane walked free from jail after almost 14 years behind bars she returned straight into the arms of her devoted partner Patrick Cogan.
The PE teacher and father of two has remained Lane’s biggest supporter during her incarceration and it would seem nothing can break their bond
By their own admission, Cogan was very much a part of Lane’s life when she bizarrely concealed a total of five pregnancies between the ages of 17 and 24.
While Lane was under investigation, the pair began dating.
Cogan was by Lane’s side when she was arrested in 2009 for killing Tegan and has remained dedicated to her ever since.
Almost daily Cogan sat in the public gallery during her four-month trial and sent long stemmed roses when he couldn’t attend.
During proceedings, he heard Lane managed to carry three of her five pregnancies to term without anyone knowing.
Not her friends, family, or water polo team mates.
It wasn’t until the checks for her third baby’s adoption were being carried out that suspicious child protection officer John Borovnik filed a missing persons report.
‘I remember the phone call and I was stunned,’ Borovnik told the court.
Cogan was by Lane’s side when she was arrested in 2009 for killing Tegan and has remained dedicated to her ever since
Cogan sent long stemmed roses to court on the handful of days he was unable to attend the trial
Lane’s trial lasted four months and the court heard she had concealed five separate pregnancies without anyone ever knowing – including Cogan
Cogan never doubted his girlfriend’s innocence
He asked Lane if she had given birth to a daughter on September 12, 1996, at Auburn hospital, which she denied.
Borovnik knew she was lying because hospital records showed that she had given birth. That child was Tegan.
The bizarre trial made international headlines – but Cogan never doubted his girlfriend’s innocence, publicly pledging his allegiance and unwavering love.
And the feeling was mutual.
On April 15, 2011, Lane stood in the dock and as the judge delivered a guilty verdict.
Immediately upon hearing her fate, Lane’s eyes searched the courtroom before she turned to her mum and asked: ‘Where’s Patrick?’
Lane’s lawyers lodged an appeal three days later and the pair remained hopeful they would be together again soon.
In the meantime, Cogan visited Lane regularly, spoke to her on the phone and sent pages-long love letters.
Cogan became a regular visitor at various corrections facilities, they spoke on the phone daily and sent pages of love letters
Then in 2014, when Lane’s final appeal was rejected, she begged him to move on.
Cogan, however, vowed to remain loyal.
‘We love each other very much,’ he said in a tell-all interview with a women’s magazine.
‘Ours’ has been a relationship borne of difficult circumstances and challenges, and these have strengthened our bond.’
From then it became an on-again, off-again love affair while Lane remained behind bars.
Around 2016 Cogan started a relationship with an unnamed woman who later accused Lane of harassing her.
The woman claimed she was named in sexually explicit letters and sick messages sent by Lane to her work, home, boyfriend and on social media.
The letters, published at the time by a woman’s magazine, contained a list of ‘rules’, Cogan was to follow while Lane was incarcerated.
They included not taking his new girlfriend to his home, not taking any photos together or performing any PDAs (public displays of affection.)
Around 2016 Cogan started a relationship with an unnamed woman who later accused Lane of harassing her
It became an on again, off again love affair while Lane remained behind bars
‘If you’re giving her a lot of attention/time – think how I might need some? Don’t go down on her. This is non-negotiable!!! SERIOUS,’ one read.
‘Say something mean or deny her something every day. Wipe that confident smug smile off her face at least once for me.
‘I’d say take everything she’s got ($) but that’s mean … is it? Don’t pander to her tantrums, you have this grub in the bag.
‘Don’t call her sweetie names, no PDAs, no nice things you say to me.
‘Actually, see if she’ll let you do something really yuk like wee on her face.’
The woman complained about Lane’s harassment to NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman, who had Kings Cross police investigate how she was able to access social media and smuggle letters out of the jail.
It was around the same time Cogan told another publication that Lane had also started a relationship in jail.
He confirmed she has gone ‘gay for the stay,’ adding. ‘She has got close to other women, she needs to survive.’
Cogan confirmed Lane has gone ‘gay for the stay,’ adding. ‘She has got close to other women, she needs to survive’
Lane donned a tropical theme bikini and electronic ankle monitor was engrossed in her book Molly by Rosalie Ham
The fiction novel is about losing hope and finding love and is the prequel to The Dressmaker in which a young girl is falsely accused of murder
Lane enjoyed the autumn sun at Fairlight Beach Rockpool near Manly
‘The truth is weirder than a lie, but I believe her and love her. I’m waiting for the day she comes out and we can be a family.’
Cogan is now Lane’s sponsor for her weekend release from jail where they stay at his $2.6million home.
The pair were clearly smitten while they enjoyed the autumn sun at Fairlight Beach Rockpool near Manly.
Lane donned a tropical theme bikini and electronic ankle monitor was engrossed in a fictional novel, Molly by Rosalie Ham.
The book is about losing hope and finding love and is the prequel to The Dressmaker in which a young girl is falsely accused of murder.
