Erin Patterson, who was convicted of murdering three people and attempting to murder a fourth using toxic death cap mushrooms, began her appeal in an Australian court on Wednesday. A three-judge panel of the Victoria state Court of Appeal in Melbourne is hearing the two-day appeal regarding a July 2023 lunch of beef Wellington pastries prepared by Patterson at her rural home in Leongatha.
Patterson, 51, was sentenced in September last year to life in prison and must serve at least 33 years before she can apply for parole. While she appeals her convictions, prosecutors are also appealing the leniency of her sentence. Prosecutor Brendan Kissane stated that the prosecution will argue on Thursday that Patterson should be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The fatal lunch resulted in the deaths of Patterson's estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, survived the poisoning after spending several weeks in the hospital. Patterson's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was invited to the lunch but did not attend. Throughout her trial, Erin Patterson maintained that the poisoning was an accident.
On Wednesday, defense lawyer Richard Edney raised the first ground for appeal, pointing to an error that resulted in jury members being sequestered in the same hotel as a police witness and members of the prosecution team. Edney described this as "a very serious breach of sequestration." Prosecutor Kissane countered that there was no evidence of actual contact between any juror and any other person, arguing the claim lacked supporting evidence.
Another defense lawyer, Veronika Drago, argued that there was no evidence Patterson had read online posts reporting that death cap mushrooms had been seen near the towns of Loch and Outtrim. While a telecommunications expert testified at trial that Patterson's phone connected to towers near those towns, Drago argued that the data only showed her phone was "possibly" in the area. Drago submitted that this evidence was "dangerous and unfair." Prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams countered that the phone data demonstrated Patterson had an opportunity to deliberately source the mushrooms shortly before the lunch.
The defense team also argued that Prosecutor Nanette Rogers' five-day cross-examination of Patterson was "unfair and oppressive" and that trial judge Christopher Bale caused "unfair prejudice" by allowing evidence from Patterson's Facebook "friends" into the trial.
Additionally, defense lawyer Vargo argued that a miscarriage of justice occurred because the prosecution shifted its narrative. According to Vargo, the prosecution opened its case by saying there was no evidence of a motive, but closed by suggesting Patterson's animosity toward her husband's parents and the broader family was the motive. When questioned by Justice Lesley Taylor, Vargo clarified that she was not making a direct allegation of deliberate professional misconduct, but argued that "where things started and where it finished by the end of the prosecution case were different."
If the appeal succeeds, the judges could overturn Patterson's convictions and order a retrial. Patterson did not attend the courtroom in person, instead watching the hearing via video link from prison.
Pretrial testimony, which was made public only after the trial concluded, revealed that Simon Patterson suspected his wife had previously made him seriously ill with dishes she prepared, though no poisons were ever found. Erin Patterson was initially charged with three counts of attempting to murder him between November 2021 and September 2022. She denied all charges, and prosecutors dropped those specific counts before her trial began in April 2025.
