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Court Rejects Appeal in Mushroom Murders Case, and Imposes Harsher Sentence
    #29712895 -

Court Rejects Appeal in Mushroom Murders Case, and Imposes Harsher Sentence
October 29, 2026 - New York Times

Judges took away the possibility of parole for an Australian woman, Erin Patterson, and rejected a bid to overturn her conviction over deadly beef Wellington lunch.

An appellate court in Australia on Friday denied the appeal of a woman convicted of murdering her in-laws and another relative with death cap mushrooms, following a trial that captivated the nation and spawned several podcasts, books and a fictionalized television series.

Erin Patterson, 52, was originally sentenced to to life in prison but could have been eligible for parole after 33 years for the murders of three people who fell ill after eating beef Wellington that she served in 2023, and the attempted murder of a fourth relative who was poisoned but survived. Ms. Patterson, who testified at her own trial, has maintained that the deaths were a tragic accident.

As well as dismissing her appeal, the court also imposed a harsher sentence on Ms. Patterson, making her ineligible for release.

Ms. Patterson’s attorneys had sought to overturn her conviction, contending that the jury was not sufficiently sequestered in the high-profile case, that prejudicial evidence was included in the trial and that the prosecution’s closing arguments had overreached.

In rejecting the appeal, the court said there had been no interaction between the jury and others related to the case who stayed in the same hotel. The court also found that the evidence Ms. Patterson’s attorneys objected to was appropriate as part of the circumstantial case presented by prosecutors.

Prosecutors in the case had also filed an appeal of Ms. Patterson’s sentence, arguing that it was “manifestly inadequate” when the crimes for which she was convicted were “truly dreadful.”

The judges granted the prosecutors’ appeal. The original sentence did not reflect the “calculated criminality” involved in the murders, the judges ruled.

They noted that her intent had persisted for more than two weeks from when she first extended the lunch invitation and that she had allowed the victims to suffer for a week after the meal, when she could have come forward and helped them.

“This offending was extraordinarily cold and calculated, and stands to be denounced in the strongest terms,” Justice Stephen McLeish said in delivering the ruling from the bench.

Gail and Don Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, died several days after eating a lunch prepared by Ms. Patterson in Leongatha, a rural town about two hours southeast of Melbourne in the state of Victoria. Ms. Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, was in intensive care but recovered and testified at the criminal trial.

Ms. Patterson had also invited her estranged husband, Gail and Don’s son Simon Patterson, to the lunch, but he had canceled the night before. Erin and Simon Patterson were separated, and had previously had disagreements over their children and finances.

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Re: Court Rejects Appeal in Mushroom Murders Case, and Imposes Harsher Sentence [Re: veggie]
    #29712917 -

Anyone else remember Erin Patterson? I didn't want to bump the entire thread of her case. It's long. But it's here if you want to check it out.

She got what she deserved.

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