Erin Patterson appeal latest: Mushroom killer’s lawyers say ‘catastrophic’ hotel mistake led to mistrial
Erin Patterson, 51, who is serving a life sentence for murdering three of her relatives with death cap mushrooms, has returned to court to appeal her convictions.
She was convicted of murdering her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson and attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived after becoming seriously ill.
Patterson’s lawyer today argued that the jury sequestration was fundamentally flawed because jurors were housed in the same hotel as the police, media and others connected to the trial.
Richard Edney argued in court that even if the jury did not actually interact with anyone involved, they had the opportunity to encounter people from one side of the case.
He called the court’s failure to prevent this an “inexplicable” and “catastrophic” error in such a high-profile trial.
However, the prosecution has rejected the defence team’s argument. Director of public prosecutions Brendan Kissane, KC, said there was “no substance” to the defence claim.
The case centres on a July 2023 lunch at Patterson’s home at Leongatha in Victoria, where she served beef Wellington containing poisonous death-cap mushrooms.
