Patterson loses appeal, faces life without parole
Victoria's Court of Appeal has rejected Erin Patterson's appeal against her murder convictions and removed any possibility of parole, so she is expected to die in prison. Patterson, 51, was convicted last year of murdering three relatives and attempting to murder a fourth after serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha in July 2023. The court set aside her original 33-year non-parole period, and she is now only the second woman in Australia sentenced to life without parole. Her lawyers had argued a substantial miscarriage of justice at the 2025 trial in Morwell.
Key facts
- Judge Stephen McLeish said her criminality was shocking and called the killings carefully planned and deliberate.
- Patterson watched proceedings by video link from a maximum security prison on the outskirts of Melbourne.
- She was sentenced last year to three life sentences for murder and 25 years for attempted murder.
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Why it matters
The ruling ends Patterson's realistic prospect of release and leaves only a further High Court challenge open to her.
What changed
First published from ABC News (Australia), The Guardian, CNA, RTÉ News and BBC News