Victoria appeals court orders Erin Patterson to serve life without parole for mushroom murders

The Victoria Court of Appeal on Friday stripped Erin Patterson of her chance for release, ordering her to remain in prison for the rest of her life. The three-judge panel rejected the original 33-year non-parole period, deeming it too lenient for the deaths of her parents-in-law and her sister-in-law.

Justice Stephen McLeish, writing for the court, described the actions as extraordinarily cold and calculated. He stated that the case involved such shocking criminality that fixing a specific release date was inappropriate. The court also rejected Patterson’s legal challenge to the underlying convictions.

The crimes occurred during a family lunch hosted by Patterson at her rural home in Leongatha in July 2023. She served death cap mushrooms to four of her estranged husband’s relatives. Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died within days of the meal. Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, survived after a weeks-long hospital stay.

Patterson, who insisted she added the mushrooms by accident, was sentenced last year to three life terms for murder and 25 years for attempted murder. Prosecutors argued in August that she should never become eligible for parole. The court agreed with that position on Friday.

The case has generated global media attention and inspired various podcasts and books. Because of her notoriety, Patterson is held in the high-security Gordon Unit of the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne. She watched the ruling via video link from the prison. She can now apply to the High Court for a final appeal.