An Australian woman convicted of murdering three people by serving them poisonous mushrooms has launched an appeal against her conviction, whilst prosecutors are simultaneously pushing for a tougher sentence.
Erin Patterson (51) will appear via video link from Melbourne’s maximum-security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre on Wednesday as three Court of Appeal judges hear arguments over two days.
Patterson was found guilty in July last year of murdering her husband’s parents and an elderly aunt by serving them a beef Wellington lunch laced with lethal death cap mushrooms in 2023. She was also convicted of attempting to murder her husband’s uncle, a local pastor who survived after spending weeks in hospital.
A judge sentenced her to life imprisonment with eligibility for parole after 33 years.
Claims of wrongly admitted evidence
Patterson’s legal team argues she suffered several counts of “substantial miscarriage of justice” because the trial judge made errors in deciding what evidence could be presented to the jury.
Her lawyer claims certain evidence relating to Facebook messages, mobile phone tower data and posts about death cap mushroom sightings was either irrelevant or unfairly prejudicial to her case.
The defence also argues that evidence about mushroom images found on a memory card in Patterson’s home was wrongly excluded from the trial.
Jury irregularity alleged
Patterson’s solicitor has raised concerns about what he describes as a “fundamental irregularity” that occurred whilst the jury was sequestered, which he says “fatally undermined the integrity of the verdicts”. No further details about this irregularity have been provided.
The defence has also accused the prosecution of conducting an “unfair and oppressive” cross-examination during the trial.
Before considering the appeal arguments in detail, the Court of Appeal judges must first decide whether Patterson’s grounds justify granting her leave to challenge her conviction at all.
Prosecution seeks harsher penalty
Meanwhile, prosecutors have lodged their own appeal, arguing that Patterson’s 33-year non-parole period is “manifestly inadequate” for the severity of her crimes.
The prosecution claims the trial judge made an error by finding there was a substantial chance Patterson would be held in solitary confinement for years to come, and that this consideration incorrectly influenced his sentencing decision.
The 12-person jury convicted Patterson of murdering her husband Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt, Heather Wilkinson, at her home in the Victorian farming village of Leongatha. She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Heather’s husband Ian, a pastor who fell gravely ill but eventually recovered.
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