Why Erin Patterson Will Never Be Eligible for Parole After Losing Her Appeal

An Australian appeals court on Friday rejected Erin Patterson’s challenge to her murder convictions and ruled she should spend the rest of her life in prison, with no chance of parole. The Independent and ABC News reported that the three-judge Victoria Court of Appeal also accepted prosecutors’ argument that her earlier sentence was too lenient.

What did the court decide?

The judges dismissed Patterson’s appeal against her convictions and upheld the prosecution’s challenge to her sentence, according to ABC News. The Independent reported that the court set aside the 33-year non-parole period imposed on her earlier and replaced it with life imprisonment without the possibility of release. Justice Stephen McLeish delivered the ruling for the panel.

Al Jazeera reported that the justices concluded the case involved such shocking criminality that fixing a non-parole period was inappropriate. ABC News noted that under the original sentence she would have been 82 years old when she could first be considered for release.

What was Patterson convicted of?

Patterson, 51, was convicted of murdering three relatives and attempting to murder a fourth person after serving a meal that contained death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, in July 2023, the Independent reported. The dead were her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson. Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, survived after being hospitalized.

ABC News reported that she was sentenced last year to three life sentences for murder and 25 years for attempted murder. Patterson has said the mushrooms were added to the beef Wellington dishes accidentally, according to ABC News.

Why did the judges say the crime deserved the harshest sentence?

McLeish said Patterson’s intent to kill all four people lasted nearly three weeks, from the time she invited them to lunch through the preparation of the meal and the suffering that followed, the Independent reported. He described the offending as carefully planned and deliberate.

The judge also pointed to what he called an elaborate series of deceptions, including a false claim that she had cancer, the destruction of evidence and a breach of trust involving her relatives, according to the Independent. Prosecutors had argued at an August hearing that the earlier sentence did not reflect the planning involved, her relationship with the victims and her lack of remorse.

What grounds did Patterson use to appeal, and why did they fail?

The Independent reported that she appealed on seven grounds, arguing that several issues made her trial unfair. They included a hotel booking error that placed jurors in the same accommodation as other people connected to the case, and the admission of evidence she called prejudicial, such as mobile phone location data and Facebook posts criticizing her in-laws. Al Jazeera added that her lawyers also argued that her cross-examination was unfair.

The appeal judges dismissed all seven grounds, according to the Independent.

What does this mean for Patterson and others?

The ruling means Patterson will remain in prison for life. ABC News reported that she is only the second woman in Australia to receive life without parole, after meatworker Katherine Knight, who was sentenced in New South Wales in 2001.

Her options are limited. She can apply to Australia’s High Court, which is her last appeal option, according to ABC News and Al Jazeera. Legal researcher Christopher Corns told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that a person in Victoria can generally appeal only once, although rare reforms from 2019 allow a second appeal. He added that another route could open if “fresh and compelling” evidence emerged that cleared her.

The Independent reported that Patterson watched the judgment by video link from the maximum security wing of a women’s prison in Melbourne, and local media said she showed little reaction.

Around Prague, based on reporting by The Independent, ABC News, Al Jazeera