Erin Patterson, 51, is set to appeal her July 2025 conviction for murdering three elderly relatives by poisoning them with toxic death cap mushrooms at her Leongatha home in 2023 [1, 2, 3, 4]. Patterson was found guilty of killing her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson. She was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived after seven weeks in hospital and a liver transplant [1, 2, 3, 4].
The murders took place in Leongatha, a town about 135 kilometers southeast of Melbourne with a population around 6,000, where Patterson lured the victims to lunch containing the poison [1, 3, 4]. Patterson denied the charges throughout the 11-week trial, claiming the poisoning was accidental [1, 2, 3, 4].
Patterson was sentenced in September 2025 to life imprisonment with a 33-year non-parole period, one of the longest for a woman in Australia [1, 2, 3, 4]. The sentencing hearing was broadcast live due to unprecedented public interest, attracting over 250 journalists worldwide [2]. Prosecutors filed an appeal against the sentence in October 2025, calling it "manifestly inadequate" after they had unsuccessfully sought life without parole at trial [1, 3, 4].
Patterson’s lawyers lodged grounds for appeal in November 2025, citing a "fundamental irregularity" during jury sequestration, claiming that some evidence was irrelevant or prejudicial and cross-examination was "unfair and oppressive" [1, 2, 3, 4].
The Victorian Court of Appeal will hear Patterson’s appeal against conviction alongside the prosecution’s appeal against sentence on August 19 and 20, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4].
