Victoria’s Court of Appeal is due to decide Erin Patterson’s conviction challenge and prosecutors’ bid for a tougher sentence at 7 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 29, with the ruling determining whether her convictions stand.
The court is considering two separate appeals: Patterson’s challenge to the jury’s findings and a case brought by Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) against her sentence. An acquittal or retrial would leave the DPP’s sentence appeal without a decision to resolve. If the convictions stand, the judges can consider prosecutors’ request for a longer minimum term.
A jury found Patterson guilty of murdering Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson. The case stems from a July 2023 lunch at her home in Leongatha, where guests ate a meal containing death cap mushrooms, according to the court’s sentencing summary.
Justice Christopher Beale sentenced Patterson on Sept. 8, 2025, to life imprisonment with a 33-year non-parole period. That is the minimum time she must serve before she may be considered for parole; it does not guarantee release. The court’s summary says she had spent 676 days in pre-sentence detention.
At an August hearing, Patterson’s lawyers linked the jury’s accommodation arrangements to a risk of improper contact, noting that a police witness and members of the prosecution team were staying at the same hotel. They also challenged the prosecutor’s cross-examination. Prosecutors argued that the minimum term was too lenient and sought either a longer period or no possibility of parole. They also disputed how the trial judge considered Patterson’s likely prison conditions.
Justices Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish and Peter Kidd heard the appeals over two days in August. The Supreme Court of Victoria has scheduled the decisions for 7 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 29 (23:00 UTC; 10 a.m. AEDT Friday, Oct. 30), and says it will livestream them.
