Prosecutors Seek Life Without Parole for Australian Mushroom Murderer Erin Patterson

Crown prosecutors are appealing against the sentence of Erin Patterson, arguing she should never be allowed to leave prison.

Prosecutors called Patterson's current sentence manifestly inadequate because it allows for the possibility of parole. Patterson, 51, was jailed for life after being found guilty last year of murdering three relatives and attempting to murder another by serving them a beef Wellington containing death cap mushrooms in 2023. She is currently eligible for parole after 33 years, at which point she would be 83.

Director of Public Prosecutions Brendan Kissane argued that 33 years is manifestly inadequate and demanded life without parole, calling it a harsh submission but demanded by the nature of the offending. Prosecutors described her crimes as truly dreadful, involving a betrayal of trust of family members she invited for lunch. They stated the crime was the culmination of a plan she had orchestrated for months, including finding and preparing death caps and concocting a fantastic lie.

Patterson's lawyers are also challenging her convictions, arguing for a retrial. They claim her conviction was undermined by a catastrophic mix-up where the jury was placed in the same hotel as some prosecutors and a key witness. Her lawyers also argued that some evidence in the trial was too speculative and that evidence for their own case was wrongfully excluded.

Patterson has consistently maintained that the poisoning was an accident. The victims who died were her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. The sole surviving guest, Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, has never fully recovered. Three judges of the Victoria state Court of Appeal are hearing the appeals over two days in Melbourne. The judges have reserved their decisions, meaning the outcome will likely be weeks or months away.