EDITOR’S NOTE: Dive deeper into the case by streaming the three-part CNN original series »Death Cap: The Mushroom Murders » on Access All.
Brisbane, Australia
An attempt by murderer Erin Patterson, who killed three people with a meal of toxic mushrooms, to overturn her conviction has failed, with an appeals court ruling that her original sentence was too light for her “cold and calculated” crimes.
Patterson, now 52, was convicted last July following a jury trial that attracted international attention because of the unusual murder method: deadly mushrooms hidden in servings of beef Wellington at a family lunch in July 2023.
The Australian mother was sentenced to three life sentences for the murder of three people, including her ex-husband’s parents, as well as 25 years in prison for the attempted murder of a fourth guest, the local pastor, who recovered after weeks in hospital.
She was sentenced to 33 years without parole, meaning she would have been 80 when released.
However, three appeals court judges instead concluded Friday that his crimes – which included a “complex series of deceptions” – were so “extraordinarily cold and calculated” that she deserved to be in prison for life.
“In all the circumstances, after careful consideration, we concluded that the case involved such shocking criminality that it was not appropriate to fix a non-parole period,” Justice Stephen McLeish said.
Patterson’s lawyers had presented seven grounds of appeal in hopes the mother of two would get a new trial. On the first ground, they contest the manner in which the members of the jury were sequestered, which they consider “catastrophic” for their case.
During the trial, held in the small Victorian town of Morwell, members of the jury shared a hotel on several occasions with prosecutors and witnesses. Although there is no evidence of any interaction between the guests, Patterson’s lawyers said the possibility of interactions “cannot be ruled out.”
However, the three judges of the court of appeal found that “there was no objective basis for an impartial person to reasonably fear that the jury had not fulfilled its function of rendering a verdict in accordance with the law.”
The justices also rejected suggestions that some evidence should not have been submitted, including cellphone data that placed Patterson near the location of the deadly mushrooms posted on a citizen science website. The judges ruled that the evidence was admissible as part of the prosecution’s “broader circumstantial case.”
The case has been dissected at length in books, podcasts, documentaries and feature articles since the facts first came to light in mid-2023, after Patterson invited four people to her home for a special Saturday lunch.
A few hours after the meal, the guests experienced severe stomach pains and a few days later, three of the four were dead, including her ex-husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson. Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, was the only survivor.
Patterson does not deny cooking the meal that ultimately killed most of her guests, but she claimed she accidentally mixed the meal with death cap mushrooms while trying to improve its flavor.
However, the jury concluded that she had picked the mushrooms with the intention of committing murder, drying them in a dehydrator that she had thrown away a few days after the meal, while her guests were dying in hospital.
Friday’s ruling means Patterson will have no chance of being released during her lifetime.
The appeal court ruled that the murders were “carefully planned and deliberate” and constituted “a cruel breach of trust”.
Patterson was not in court to hear the outcome of his appeal, but appeared via video link from prison. Journalists at the court in Melbourne, Australia, said she showed no emotion as the judgment was read.
Outside court, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that “prosecutors, police investigators and supporters” of Patterson’s ex-husband “smiled broadly.”
Gn world
