Erin Patterson: Mushroom killer to appeal guilty verdict

Australia’s mushroom murderer Erin Patterson intends to appeal against her conviction, her lawyer has told a court in Melbourne.

Earlier last month, Patterson was sentenced to life in jail after a jury found her guilty of killing three relatives and attempting to kill another by serving them a toxic beef Wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms.

She maintained her innocence during the 11-week long trial, claiming that the disastrous meal had been an accident.

No details of the proposed grounds for appeal were given during Thursday’s brief administrative hearing, and the appeal has not yet been formally lodged.

An appeal is not an automatic right – her legal team must convince the appeal court in the state of Victoria that there were legal errors and that they should hear the appeal.

Patterson was sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of release for at least 33 years.

The jail term, one of the longest ever handed to a female offender in Australia, means Erin Patterson, who turned 51 this week, will be in her 80s before she can apply for parole.

Patterson killed her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, after serving them a toxic beef Wellington at her home in Victoria in 2023.

Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, a local pastor, survived the lunch after recovering from a coma and has ongoing health issues related to the poisoning.

The case sent shock waves through the small town of Korumburra, where the Pattersons and Wilkinsons lived.

The weeks-long murder trial this year, which attracted international attention, ended with a 12-member jury finding Patterson guilty on all charges.

A Supreme Court judge said Patterson’s crimes were the “worst category” for offending and involved an “elaborate cover-up”.

Justice Christopher Beale added that Patterson “showed no pity” for her victims in the days after the lunch, as those who had eaten her toxic meal fought for their lives in hospital.