Erin Patterson, 51, was jailed for a minimum of 33 years last month after she was found guilty of murdering Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. Photo / AFP, Martin Keep
Erin Patterson, 51, was jailed for a minimum of 33 years last month after she was found guilty of murdering Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. Photo / AFP, Martin Keep
The Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions has revealed plans to appeal Erin Patterson’s sentence as “manifestly inadequate”.
Patterson, 51, was jailed for a minimum of 33 years last month after she was found guilty of murdering Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson.
The four members of her estranged husband Simon Patterson’s family fell ill after eating a beef wellington lunch at Patterson’s Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.
The meal contained death cap mushrooms, with prosecutors successfully arguing she deliberately sourced and included the fungi, intending to kill her guests.
Erin Patterson was sentenced to three life sentences, with a non-parole period of 33 years. Photo / Getty Images
In a statement on Monday afternoon, a spokeswoman for the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed an appeal against her sentence had been lodged.
“We confirm that a DPP appeal has been filed on the basis that the sentence handed down to Erin Patterson is manifestly inadequate,” she said.
Patterson, who maintains she is innocent, has separately flagged plans to appeal her conviction.
She has enlisted a new barrister, Richard Edney, who told Victoria’s Supreme Court last week the appeal would be lodged.
“I can indicate there will be an appeal against conviction,” he said.
Don Patterson and Gail Patterson, Erin Patterson's former parents-in-law, died after Patterson poisoned them. Photo / Supplied
Under Victorian guidelines, both sides of a criminal case have 28 days after a sentence to lodge an appeal with the Court of Appeal.
That window for prosecutors was due to close on Monday but, under a recently announced trial, Patterson’s lawyers can request a 28-day extension.
The change was announced in a notice to the legal profession shared by Vivienne Mahy, the Executive Associate to Victorian Chief Justice Richard Niall, on September 17.
It said members of the profession had “raised concerns” about the difficulty in preparing appeal paperwork within the four week period.
Patterson was found guilty after an 11-week trial earlier this year, with Justice Christopher Beale finding her offending fell into the “worst category”.
“I have no hesitation in finding your offending falls into the worst category for the offences of murder and attempted murder,” he said.
“The gravity of your offending warrants the imposition of the maximum penalties for your crimes.”
She was sentenced to life imprisonment, with no eligibility of parole for 33 years. Ahead of Patterson’s sentencing, prosecutors had called for her to spend the rest of her life behind bars.
“It is a crime that is so horrific that the offender is not deserving of this court’s mercy,” prosecutor Jane Warren argued in August.
Throughout the trial, Patterson maintained the deaths were a tragic accident, and the prosecution conceded they could not prove a motive for the poisonings.
Under the sentence imposed in September, the mother-of-two will be in her early 80s before she is eligible for parole.
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