Hotel co‑dwelling claims shadow over mushroom murderer’s conviction

Erin Patterson, serving a life sentence after the 2023 poisoning of three relatives, has taken her appeal to the Victorian Court of Appeal, alleging a fundamental error that undermined the jury’s integrity.

Patterson’s lawyer, Richard Edney, told Justice Peter Kidd that the jury’s hotel accommodation risked communication with prosecutors, a key police witness, and journalists – a “catastrophic” situation that could “substantially damage” the verdicts.

The defence also challenged the use of a mobile‑tower expert, arguing that the evidence about Patterson’s phone connecting to two areas near the speaker village was speculative and outweighed by unfair prejudice. They further contended that Facebook messages sent months before the lunch were irrelevant.

Patterson, 51, watched the hearing via video link from prison. Her estranged husband, Simon, had been invited to the ill‑fated lunch but withdrew last minute. Investigators detail that the murder took place when Patterson served a beef Wellington laced with death‑cap mushrooms to her sister‑in‑law Gail and her husband Don.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Brendan Kissane, appealed underlined that a 33‑year parole window was “manifestly inadequate”, while urging the court to keep the sentence fixed. He argued that any communication in the hotel was unlikely, calling it an accident.

The appellate judges will decide after the two‑day hearing, with potential weeks before a verdict. A retrial would, according to the defence, be the only way to “both do justice and make it look like justice has been done.”