Australian appeals court bars Erin Patterson from parole for life

An appeals court in Victoria dismissed Erin Patterson's challenge to her convictions and upheld prosecutors' request that her 33-year non-parole term be removed, meaning she will remain in prison for the rest of her life. The judges described the killings as "extraordinarily cold and calculated" and said the case involved "shocking criminality" that makes a parole period inappropriate. > "This offending was extraordinarily cold and calculated and stands to be denounced in the strongest terms," Justice Stephen McLeish said on behalf of the three judges. > "In all the circumstances after anxious consideration, we have concluded that the case involved such shocking criminality that it is inappropriate to fix a non-parole period," he added.

Patterson, who was convicted of murdering four of her estranged husband's relatives with death-cap mushrooms at a family lunch in July 2023, had previously received three life sentences for murder and a 25-year term for attempted murder. She claimed the mushrooms were added to the dishes accidentally, a contention rejected by the court. The only survivor, Ian Wilkinson, testified that Patterson had asked for advice about informing her children of a supposed cancer diagnosis, a claim the judge said was part of an elaborate deception.

The ruling makes Patterson only the second woman in Australia sentenced to life without parole, following Katherine Knight's 2001 sentence. Patterson may seek a final appeal to the High Court. She did not attend the hearing, viewing the verdict via video link from the high-security Gordon Unit of Melbourne's Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. The case has attracted extensive media coverage and is being adapted into a six-episode series starring Melanie Lynskey, who also serves as executive producer.