Safety · Leongatha
Erin Patterson loses appeal, will not be eligible for early release from prison
Victoria's Court of Appeal removed the 33-year non-parole period from Erin Patterson's sentence and rejected her appeal against her convictions. The court sided with prosecutors, who had argued the seriousness of the offences ruled out early release.
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In brief
The Court of Appeal of Victoria removed the 33-year non-parole period, after prosecutors appealed the sentence as too lenient for the seriousness of the offences.
Three judges rejected Erin Patterson's appeal against her convictions for the murder of three people.
Patterson, 52, can still appeal to the High Court of Australia, her last option to challenge the conviction.
Patterson says she accidentally added death cap mushrooms to a family lunch in Leongatha in July 2023. The parents and aunt of her former husband died, and an uncle survived after weeks in a coma.
- July 2023Family lunch in Leongatha, where Patterson says she accidentally added death cap mushrooms
- August 2026Hearing at which Patterson pursued an appeal against her conviction
- Late October 2026Court of Appeal rejects her conviction appeal and removes the 33-year non-parole period
The appeal ruling
The Court of Appeal of Victoria rejected Erin Patterson's appeal against her convictions and removed the 33-year non-parole period from her sentence. Prosecutors had appealed the sentence, arguing that the seriousness of the offences ruled out early release, and the court agreed with them. Three judges also dismissed her challenge to the convictions, leaving her with no prospect of early release.
The case
Patterson, 52, had been sentenced to three life terms for murdering three people by poisoning them with death cap mushrooms. She maintains that she added the mushrooms to a family lunch in Leongatha in July 2023 by accident. The parents and aunt of her former husband died from the poisoning, and an uncle survived but lay in a coma for weeks. Her former husband had been invited to the lunch but cancelled at the last minute.
Next steps
Patterson can still take the case to the High Court of Australia, her last option to challenge the conviction. A life sentence without any possibility of parole is very rare in Australia. At a hearing in August she had pursued an appeal against her conviction, and the court has now rejected both challenges.
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Sources and context
- Erin Patterson
- Woman convicted of murdering three people by poisoning them with death cap mushrooms at a family lunch in Leongatha
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