Mushroom cook murder convictions ‘appeal-proof’: expert
Allanah Sciberras, Callum Godde, Emily Woods and Rachael Ward |
The judge in Erin Patterson’s triple-murder trial has made her case “virtually appeal-proof” and it will be difficult for her to successfully challenge her convictions, a legal expert says.
Patterson, 50, is facing a sentence of life in prison for three murders and one attempted murder of her estranged husband’s family, and is expected to return to court for a pre-sentence hearing later in 2025.
The mother of two will have 28 days from the date of her sentence to begin the process of lodging an appeal, if she chooses to pursue one.
But Emeritus Professor in Law at the University of South Australia Rick Sarre told AAP that would be a difficult task.
Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale, who presided over the almost 11-week trial in regional Victoria, spent four days delivering his final directions to jurors before they were sent away to deliberate.
This “meticulous detail” has made the case “virtually appeal-proof”, Professor Sarre said.
“I don’t think it will get past the leave to appeal process, even if the lawyers do want to go ahead with it,” he said.
Grounds for any appeal by Patterson would be based on an error in the trial judge’s directions, or if there was an issue in the jury reaching their verdicts, he said.
Prof Sarre did not think the jury’s verdict could be challenged, given it had taken seven days to deliberate.
“It would be a very difficult task for her to mount a successful appeal on the basis of the conviction,” he said.
“We just have to wait at the moment to see what the sentence is to determine whether or not there can be any appeal in terms of severity of sentence.”
Clinical forensic psychologist and criminal lawyer Brianna Chesser said Patterson will likely face “quite a large sentence”.
“We’ve heard during the cross-examination and examination-in-chief that there are some mental health concerns for Ms Patterson,” Dr Chesser told AAP.
“That may well act a mitigating factor in any sort of sentence.”
Victims of the deadly lunch have been remembered as “very special people” by their church.
In a message pinned to the Korumburra Baptist Church noticeboard, it says Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson are greatly missed.
All three died in hospital after Patterson served them beef Wellington parcels laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023.
Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, the Korumburra Baptist Church pastor, was the sole survivor.
“We all greatly miss Heather, Don, Gail, whether we were friends for a short time or over 20 years,” the notice said.
The church thanked the community for its love and support during Patterson’s lengthy trial.
“As our Pastor Ian has said ‘Life can be hard, but God is faithful, and He is always with us’.”
The case has captivated the world, with dozens of podcasts, international media attention and members of the public lining up for weeks to catch a glimpse of the trial.
Patterson will go down as the most famous female murderer in Australia, according to senior criminology lecturer and researcher Brandy Cochrane.
The Victoria University senior lecturer said that historically women who kill tended to use “non-confrontational forms of murder” like poisoning, rather than shooting or stabbing.
“There’s a very long history of people being very interested in women who kill because it is such a rarity, as opposed to men’s violence that is kind of regularised in our society,” they said.
The jury’s guilty verdicts on Monday were delivered a week after being sent away to deliberate, as the trial entered its 11th week.
The Supreme Court released evidence from the trial within hours of the decision, including photos of beef Wellington leftovers as they were tested after police found them inside a bin at Patterson’s home.
AAP
