The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for 19 years with a minimum of 14 years for bashing to death the young boy with her then boyfriend in August 1993.

At the time she was aged 25 and the boyfriend 20, and had claimed the boy had been attacked by a group of teenagers while walking through a park.

While the 41-year-old woman has spent nearly 16 years in jail, the State Parole Authority on Thursday rejected an application for her release.

It was the woman’s second application for release on parole, and was opposed by people including the former partner of the murdered boy’s biological father, and one of the women’s other children, now an adult.

State Parole Authority secretary Paul Byrnes said the Serious Offenders Review Council also opposed the application, reinforcing the authority’s concerns the woman would be unable to adapt to lawful community life.