Australian convicted murderer Erin Patterson has lodged an appeal against her guilty verdicts for the killing of three people with toxic mushrooms, according to local media reports, following a sensational trial that drew worldwide attention.
Patterson, aged 51, was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole earlier this year after serving a beef Wellington dish laced with deadly mushrooms to her estranged husband’s parents, aunt, and uncle during a family lunch at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, in 2023. Three of them later died.
According to reports from national broadcaster ABC and the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday night, Patterson’s appeal against her convictions has been formally lodged and accepted by the Court of Appeal. Her legal team has yet to disclose the grounds on which the appeal is based.
Patterson was sentenced in September, with the presiding judge ruling that she would be eligible for parole after serving 33 years. Her defence lawyers had previously argued that she should be considered for release after 30 years, citing the extraordinary notoriety of the case and claiming that she would likely spend much of her sentence in isolation for her own safety.
The prosecution, however, has since appealed the sentence itself, describing it as “manifestly inadequate.”
During the two-month trial, Patterson consistently maintained that the beef Wellington was accidentally contaminated with death cap mushrooms—the world’s most poisonous fungus. Nonetheless, a 12-member jury in July found her guilty of murdering her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her husband’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson. She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson.
Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, had been invited to the fatal lunch but declined at the last minute, texting her that he felt “uncomfortable” attending. The couple’s relationship had deteriorated at the time, and they were in the midst of a dispute over child support payments, despite remaining legally married.
During sentencing hearings in August, friends and relatives of the victims described the devastating emotional toll of the killings. Survivor Ian Wilkinson told the court that he felt only “half alive” without his wife.
“The silence in our home is a daily reminder,” he said. “I continue to carry a heavy burden of grief over her untimely death.”
Death cap mushrooms are notorious for their deceptive appearance, often resembling edible varieties, and are said to have a mild, pleasant taste that conceals their extreme toxicity