Erin Patterson to learn appeal verdict in mushroom murder case

Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had all been good to you and your children over many years

That was the judgment delivered by Justice Christopher Beale when he sentenced Erin Patterson to life imprisonment, after an 11-week trial in the regional town of Morwell. Now, the 52-year-old triple murderer will learn her fate on Friday when a three-judge bench of Victoria's Court of Appeal hands down its decision at 10am. The high-profile case has reached a critical juncture, with the judgment to be delivered in Court 1 of the Victorian Supreme Court due to large media and public interest, and livestreamed publicly on the Supreme Court of Victoria website. Patterson is not expected to appear at the Supreme Court in person, instead appearing via video link to witness the decision.

The legal battle centers on a fateful lunch in July 2023 at Patterson's home in Leongatha, in Victoria's south-east, where she served a beef Wellington pie laced with death cap mushrooms to her relatives. Don Patterson, Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, died days after consuming the meal, while Heather's husband, Korumburra church pastor Ian Wilkinson, spent months in hospital recovering after falling gravely ill. Patterson was subsequently found guilty in 2025 of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years, which would leave her eligible for release when she is in her early 80s. Patterson has consistently denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.

What Changes and Who Is Affected

The upcoming ruling carries vastly different trajectories for the convicted killer, the Crown, and the grieving families watching from around the world. In August, both Patterson and the prosecution lodged appeals against the original trial outcome, setting up a complex series of possible judicial outcomes for the Supreme Court of Appeal judges Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish and Peter Kidd.

• If Patterson's conviction appeal is successful, the court could either order a retrial or acquit her of the charges, rendering the prosecution's sentence appeal irrelevant.
• If Patterson's conviction appeal is dismissed and the Crown's sentence appeal is also dismissed, her sentence will remain as life imprisonment with a minimum term of 33 years.
• If Patterson loses her conviction appeal but the prosecution's sentence appeal is upheld, Patterson will be resentenced.
• If Patterson's conviction appeal is unsuccessful, she retains the option of seeking special appeal to the High Court, though permission is not guaranteed.

The prosecution, led by Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions Brendan Kissane KC, argues that the original 33-year non-parole term is manifestly inadequate. Mr Kissane pressed a Crown appeal claiming the trial judge erred by leaving open the possibility of Patterson's eventual release. The prosecution team contends that a life sentence without parole is the only appropriate outcome given the number of victims, the extensive planning involved in the deadly lunch, the continuation of the offending by failing to disclose the poisoning to medical staff, and Patterson's lack of remorse. They further argued that Justice Beale should not have made allowances for Patterson facing years in protective custody due to her notoriety.

Meanwhile, the prison conditions surrounding Patterson have drawn additional public attention. Weeks before the appeal decision, news broke that Patterson was approved to receive taxpayer-funded weight loss medication behind bars. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Community Safety confirmed that prisoners may be prescribed weight loss medications, including Ozempic, when a treating doctor considers them medically necessary. Patterson previously admitted during her trial that she had engaged in binge eating and purging since her 20s. The appeal court also heard details of her daily prison routine, noting she has access to a library, recreation centre, exercise yard, and treadmill, engages in hobbies such as crocheting, and has regular video calls with her children.

Legal Arguments and the Path to the Appeal

The two-day appeal hearing in August exposed sharp disagreements between the defence and the prosecution over how the original trial was conducted. Patterson's legal team based their bid to overturn the murder convictions on claims of a substantial miscarriage of justice. Chief among their arguments was what they termed a catastrophic accommodation bungle during jury deliberations. Defence lawyers told the court that the jury stayed at the same hotel as the main police witness for the prosecution, as well as two members of the prosecution team. They made lengthy submissions regarding the risk of jury members being influenced by direct or indirect contact, such as seeing other parties through a hotel window.

The defence also targeted the conduct of the trial itself, arguing that prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC subjected Patterson to an unfair and oppressive cross-examination. According to Patterson's lawyers, the five-day questioning involved terse exchanges that risked creating improper inferences in the minds of jurors. They further accused Dr Rogers of shifting the prosecution case during her closing address by implying a motive for the murders, despite having told the jury during her opening remarks that there was no evidence of a motive. Before the three judges can rule on the sentence, they must first determine whether Patterson's case has met the legal requirements to be granted leave to appeal.

With the legal arguments weighed over the past several months, attention now turns to Court 1 of the Victorian Supreme Court at 10am on Friday. Readers and observers tracking the case can watch the judgment livestreamed directly on the Supreme Court of Victoria website to see whether the convictions stand, whether a retrial is ordered, or whether the Crown succeeds in putting Patterson behind bars for the remainder of her life.