Australian Woman Erin Patterson Appeals Murder Convictions in Mushroom Poisoning Case

Three judges of the Victoria state Court of Appeal are hearing her appeal over two days.

Patterson's defense attorney, Richard Edney, presented the first ground for appeal: an error that resulted in jury members being sequestered in the same hotel as a police witness and members of the prosecution team. Edney called this a very serious breach of sequestration and catastrophic. Prosecutors, meanwhile, are appealing Patterson's sentence, arguing it was too lenient.

Patterson was sentenced in September last year to life in prison, with a non-parole period of 33 years. Prosecutors will argue Thursday that she should be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Director of Public Prosecutions Brendan Kissane said there was no evidence of actual contact between any juror and any other person.

Kissane accepted the hotel arrangement was regrettable but happened by accident. Patterson was found guilty last July of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. The charges relate to a lunch of beef Wellington pastries she prepared at her rural home in Leongatha, southeast Australia, in July 2023. Her victims include her estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.

Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, was the only surviving guest. Another defense lawyer, Veronika Drago, argued there was no evidence Patterson had read online posts reporting death cap mushrooms near Loch and Outtrim. The trial heard evidence from a telecommunications expert that Patterson's phone connected to towers near those towns. Prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams said this evidence showed Patterson had an opportunity to deliberately source death cap mushrooms. Patterson, 51, watched the appeal hearing via video link from prison.