Judges to rule on Australian mushroom killer’s appeal
Australian woman Erin Patterson’s lawyers argue that errors during the trial led to an unfair conviction, while prosecutors say her 33-year minimum prison term is too lenient.
In a supplied court sketch, Erin Patterson is depicted on a video link from the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, as seen in the Victorian Court of Appeal in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Aug 19, 2026. (Photo: AP/Anita Lester)
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MELBOURNE: Australian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson will learn Friday (Oct 29) if she has succeeded in overturning her conviction for killing three people with a poisoned beef Wellington lunch.
Patterson, 52, was found guilty last year of murdering her husband’s parents and an elderly aunt in 2023 by serving them a beef-and-pastry meal laced with lethal death cap mushrooms.
A judge sentenced her to life imprisonment, eligible for parole after 33 years.
In August her lawyers argued before the Court of Appeal in Melbourne that she had suffered a miscarriage of justice.
They alleged a litany of irregularities in the trial, including an “oppressive” cross-examination and unfair decisions on the admission of evidence.
Prosecutors also appealed, however, saying her 33-year non-parole period was “manifestly inadequate” – and she should never be allowed to walk free.
On Friday at 10am local time, the Court of Appeal will hand down its decision on both appeals, officials said.
On the conviction, the judges must decide whether there are even grounds to give her leave to appeal.
If they agree to do so, the judges may dismiss the appeal or uphold it, in which case they may order a new trial or acquit her.
On her sentence, the court will either dismiss the prosecution’s appeal or uphold it and re-sentence her.
Patterson is not expected to attend in person and watched her appeal by live video link from her prison, the maximum-security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Her trial last year drew podcasters, film crews and true crime fans to a courthouse in the rural town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet in Victoria better known for its prize-winning roses.
Audiences from New York to New Delhi followed every twist of what many now simply call the “mushroom murders”.
The motive of the killings remains a mystery.
A 12-person jury found Patterson guilty in July last year of murdering her husband Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt, Heather Wilkinson, at her home in the Victorian farming village of Leongatha.
She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Heather’s husband Ian, a pastor who fell gravely ill but eventually recovered.
Source: AFP/fs
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