Erin Patterson's Appeals Fail, Court Orders Life Without Parole

Erin Patterson will spend the rest of her life in prison after a Victorian court rejected her bid to overturn murder convictions on Friday. The three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal dismissed all seven grounds of her appeal. The judges also agreed with the prosecution that her original sentence was too lenient because it allowed for a future release date.

The panel ruled that the non-parole period of 33 years was inappropriate. Justice Stephen McLeish stated that the case involved shocking criminality that demanded the strongest terms of denunciation. He noted the crimes were extraordinarily cold and calculated. The court therefore removed the possibility of her freedom after three decades behind bars.

Patterson, 52, was found guilty in 2023 of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill a fourth. She served them beef Wellington laced with toxic death cap mushrooms. The victims were her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson. Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband and a local pastor, survived the meal but suffered ongoing health issues after weeks in hospital.

Simon Patterson, Erin's estranged husband, missed the lunch at her rural home. He cancelled at the last minute partly because he believed his wife had tried to poison him on previous occasions. A jury convicted Patterson after a high-profile trial last year. The trial judge had originally set the 33-year non-parole period due to expected harsh prison conditions.

Her legal team filed the appeal in August. They argued a hotel booking error compromised the trial by placing the jury in the same location as the prosecution, a police witness, and media. The defence claimed cell tower data and Facebook posts were irrelevant and prejudicial. They also said the judge wrongly excluded evidence about Patterson's mushroom foraging hobby.

The lawyers further asserted that the prosecution's five-day cross-examination was unfair and oppressive. They alleged the Crown was inconsistent regarding motive. The appeal judges rejected these arguments on Friday. Patterson now has 28 days to decide whether to seek a hearing from the High Court of Australia.