Victoria court set to determine if Erin Patterson faces retrial

Erin Patterson, 52, will learn this Friday whether she faces a new trial or a longer prison term. The decision comes from the Victorian Court of Appeal, which is hearing two separate challenges to her conviction and sentence for the 2024 murders of three relatives.

The three-justice panel, consisting of Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish, and Peter Kidd, heard arguments in August. They will announce their ruling at 10am on Friday. Patterson is not expected to be present in the courtroom for the decision.

The case began when Patterson was found guilty of killing her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson. She also received a conviction for the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson. The court last year imposed a life sentence with a 33-year non-parole period.

Prosecutors argued in August that the 33-year period was manifestly inadequate. Brendan Kissane KC, representing the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court that even if Patterson is in her 80s at eligibility, the sentence remained too lenient for the severity of the crimes. He acknowledged the harshness of a life-with-life sentence but stated that the seriousness of the offending outweighed that factor.

Patterson’s legal team raised seven grounds for appeal. Richard Edney, her counsel, described the jury selection process as a catastrophic failure. He argued that jurors staying in the same hotel as police and prosecutors during deliberations created a fundamental irregularity. Edney called this an inexplicable failure of process that denied his client a fair trial.

The defense also challenged the exclusion of digital evidence. They argued that the trial judge erred by ruling photos and videos of mushrooms found on an SD card at Patterson’s home were inadmissible, as that evidence supported her claim that she foraged for mushrooms.

The court has four possible paths. It may deny leave to appeal or grant it but dismiss the case. Alternatively, it may grant leave and order a retrial or enter an acquittal. If the latter two outcomes occur, the prosecution’s appeal on the sentence becomes moot. If the appeal is dismissed or upheld without a retrial, the court of appeal will handle any resentencing.