MELBOURNE — Prosecutor Brendan Kissane told the Victoria state Court of Appeal on Thursday that triple-murderer Erin Patterson should never be released from prison. Kissane argued that the nonparole period of 33 years for her life sentence was "manifestly inadequate."
Patterson, 51, would be approximately 82 years old before she could be considered for release under her current sentence. Kissane said if the judges did not remove parole entirely, they should impose a nonparole period longer than 33 years.
Patterson began her own appeal on Wednesday, challenging convictions on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The charges stem from a lunch she prepared at her rural home in Leongatha in July 2023.
The meal, a beef Wellington, contained death cap mushrooms that poisoned four of her estranged husband's relatives. His parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, died after consuming the food.
Heather Wilkinson's husband, Ian Wilkinson, also became ill and spent weeks in hospital but ultimately survived. Patterson's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was invited to the lunch but did not attend.
During her trial, Patterson maintained that the poisoning was an accident. Kissane characterized her crimes as "pitiless behavior" and "truly dreadful" during the appeal hearing.
Patterson is currently held in the high-security Gordon Unit of Melbourne's Dame Phyllis Frost Centre women's prison, designated for prisoners assessed as high-risk due to notoriety.
In sentencing Patterson last September, trial judge Christopher Bale said there was a "substantial chance" she could be held in "solitary confinement for years to come." Kissane argued this conclusion lacked evidentiary support, stating Patterson's prison conditions undergo monthly reviews.
Richard Edney, Patterson's lawyer, countered that his client is being held in solitary confinement as defined by the United Nations—confinement for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact.
Prosecution court documents stated that "there is no factually comparable case to this" in Australia. They cited two Melbourne cases to support a longer nonparole period: Osman Shaptafaj, who received a 35-year nonparole period in 2022 for murdering his daughter and her husband, and Jaymes Todd, who was given a 43-year nonparole period in 2019 for the rape and murder of comedian Eurydice Dixon in a city park.
Few Australian prisoners are sentenced without any prospect of release on parole. Under state law, a judge must set a nonparole period for murder unless the nature of the offending dictates otherwise. The three judges of the Victoria state Court of Appeal reserved their decisions on both appeals.
