Australian woman Erin Patterson is set to launch an appeal on Wednesday against her conviction for the murders of three family members in a case that attracted worldwide attention.
The 51-year-old was found guilty last year of murdering her husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson, after serving them a beef Wellington meal containing deadly death cap mushrooms in 2023.
She was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, a local pastor who became seriously ill after eating the meal but survived following weeks of treatment in hospital.
Patterson was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 33 years before she can apply for parole.
Over two days, a three-judge panel at the Court of Appeal in Melbourne will hear arguments relating to two separate challenges: Patterson’s bid to overturn her convictions and an appeal by prosecutors seeking a longer minimum sentence.
Patterson has requested permission to follow the proceedings via live video link from the maximum-security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne’s western suburbs, where she is being held.
Her legal team argues that there were several instances of what it describes as a “substantial miscarriage of justice” during the trial. Her lawyer claims the trial judge made errors in deciding which evidence could be presented to the jury.
Among the issues raised are evidence relating to Facebook messages, mobile phone tower data and online posts concerning reported sightings of death cap mushrooms. Patterson’s lawyers argue that some of this material was either irrelevant or unfairly prejudicial.
They also contend that evidence involving mushroom images found on a memory card at Patterson’s home was wrongly excluded.
Her appeal submission further alleges that a “fundamental irregularity” occurred while the jury was sequestered, which her lawyer argues undermined the integrity of the verdicts. No further details of the allegation have been made public.
Patterson’s solicitor has also accused the prosecution of conducting an “unfair and oppressive” cross-examination during the trial.
Before the appeal can proceed in full, the judges must first decide whether Patterson’s grounds meet the threshold required for her to challenge the convictions.
Meanwhile, prosecutors are appealing the sentence, arguing that the 33-year non-parole period was “manifestly inadequate”.
They claim the sentencing judge was wrong to conclude that Patterson faced a substantial prospect of spending years in solitary confinement, arguing that this consideration improperly influenced the final sentence.
A 12-person jury found Patterson guilty in July last year over the deaths at her home in the Victorian farming town of Leongatha, while Ian Wilkinson survived despite becoming gravely ill after the lunch.
