Secret move to seize Erin Patterson's property for victims revealed
Legal sources speaking on condition of anonymity said the DPP could challenge the mortgage and argue Doogue & George knew at the time it was taken out that the property was 'risky' since Patterson cooked the beef Wellington parcels used to commit the crime in the kitchen.
However, the source said Patterson's lawyers could also argue that prosecutors had a chance to restrain the property earlier and failed to do so. They could also argue Patterson had not been convicted at the time, and it was their view that she hadn't committed any offences.
'It's for a judge to ultimately say,' one source said. 'If one of them wants to go off to the Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal might see it differently.'
Patterson served the poisoned meal to her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian Wilkinson, in the Gibson Street property on July 29, 2023.
Don, Gail and Heather died less than a week later. Ian, a Baptist pastor in Korumburra, eventually recovered after spending several weeks in hospital, most of those in a coma.
Ian, as well as members of the Wilkinson and Patterson families, could be eligible for compensation.
The five-bedroom property is likely to be difficult to sell, given its history as the scene of a major crime and the ghoulish attraction it has become for true-crime fans.
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True-crime aficionados and curious locals have been frequently spotted driving along the quiet road to take a peek at the house.
The 1.2 hectare property, surrounded by gumtrees and paddocks, has been labelled 'Erin's Mushroom House' on Google Maps. The listing includes a 5-star review by an online user alongside jokes about the mushroom meal.
Just before the 12-person jury began deliberations in the case, black plastic sheeting was used to cover the external fencing of the property – creating a kind of privacy shield. It was taken down days after the guilty verdicts.
During the trial, Patterson spoke about her Leongatha house, telling the jury she'd helped design it using Microsoft Paint and wanted it to be her forever home.
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The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Man jailed for throwing knife into former employee's eye
A GARAGE owner had drunk up to a dozen beers and taken cocaine when he threw a knife at a former employee who had come to help him work on a car, causing a catastrophic eye injury. Ben Renyard was sentenced in Newcastle Local Court on Friday to two years behind bars, with a non-parole period of 16 months, after pleading guilty to recklessly causing grievous bodily harm. The 37-year-old man had messaged a 26-year-old man, his former employee, multiple times asking him to help work on a car at Morpeth Motor Garage on the evening of July 3 last year. But Renyard was highly intoxicated when the younger man and his mate turned up. Renyard had drunk up to 12 beers and two bottles of sambuca, and had taken cocaine and 10 Endone tablets. Renyard was "playing" with a three-inch foldable knife and stabbing a cardboard box when the men said they had to leave. Renyard threw a bottle across the workshop, smashing it. Suddenly, completely unprovoked and without warning, Renyard threw the blade in the direction of the two men, striking the 26-year-old in the eye. The victim felt something smack him in the head, and a knife fell onto the ground when he touched his face. Blood was flowing. "You f---ing got me, Ben," the victim screamed. Renyard offered to drive the man to the hospital and said, "Shit, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened". The man's friend took the victim to Maitland Hospital but he was transferred to John Hunter Hospital due to the seriousness of the injury. The 26-year-old underwent multiple eye surgeries over a period of months but ultimately had his eye removed after doctors could not find the 7.5-millimetre piece of metal that was embedded in it. A victim impact statement detailing the emotional and physical trauma the incident had caused and how the "future cannot be measured at this time" was handed up to the court. The victim faces further surgical intervention. Magistrate Ian Cheetham said at sentencing on Friday that the victim felt embarrassed and struggled with self-confidence. "It is entirely accepted that suffering such a significant injury ... his life has been forever affected," Mr Cheetham said. "The loss is permanent." The court heard Renyard had lived through a rough upbringing and struggled with several health conditions, including substance abuse disorders and mental illness. The court heard he continued to have the support of his family and had expressed remorse and "devastation" for causing the victim to lose the eye. Mr Cheetham said Renyard's conduct had caused a "permanent and serious disfiguring injury", but it was his inability to control his impulses that had caused him to recklessly throw the knife, rather than a deliberate action. "There was no planning or evidence of malice," he said. Mr Cheetham found special circumstances in the case. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) prosecuted the case in the local court, where lower penalties apply. Mr Cheetham said he would have imposed a sentence of two years and three months, but the maximum full-time jail term that can be handed down in that jurisdiction is two years. A GARAGE owner had drunk up to a dozen beers and taken cocaine when he threw a knife at a former employee who had come to help him work on a car, causing a catastrophic eye injury. Ben Renyard was sentenced in Newcastle Local Court on Friday to two years behind bars, with a non-parole period of 16 months, after pleading guilty to recklessly causing grievous bodily harm. The 37-year-old man had messaged a 26-year-old man, his former employee, multiple times asking him to help work on a car at Morpeth Motor Garage on the evening of July 3 last year. But Renyard was highly intoxicated when the younger man and his mate turned up. Renyard had drunk up to 12 beers and two bottles of sambuca, and had taken cocaine and 10 Endone tablets. Renyard was "playing" with a three-inch foldable knife and stabbing a cardboard box when the men said they had to leave. Renyard threw a bottle across the workshop, smashing it. Suddenly, completely unprovoked and without warning, Renyard threw the blade in the direction of the two men, striking the 26-year-old in the eye. The victim felt something smack him in the head, and a knife fell onto the ground when he touched his face. Blood was flowing. "You f---ing got me, Ben," the victim screamed. Renyard offered to drive the man to the hospital and said, "Shit, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened". The man's friend took the victim to Maitland Hospital but he was transferred to John Hunter Hospital due to the seriousness of the injury. The 26-year-old underwent multiple eye surgeries over a period of months but ultimately had his eye removed after doctors could not find the 7.5-millimetre piece of metal that was embedded in it. A victim impact statement detailing the emotional and physical trauma the incident had caused and how the "future cannot be measured at this time" was handed up to the court. The victim faces further surgical intervention. Magistrate Ian Cheetham said at sentencing on Friday that the victim felt embarrassed and struggled with self-confidence. "It is entirely accepted that suffering such a significant injury ... his life has been forever affected," Mr Cheetham said. "The loss is permanent." The court heard Renyard had lived through a rough upbringing and struggled with several health conditions, including substance abuse disorders and mental illness. The court heard he continued to have the support of his family and had expressed remorse and "devastation" for causing the victim to lose the eye. Mr Cheetham said Renyard's conduct had caused a "permanent and serious disfiguring injury", but it was his inability to control his impulses that had caused him to recklessly throw the knife, rather than a deliberate action. "There was no planning or evidence of malice," he said. Mr Cheetham found special circumstances in the case. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) prosecuted the case in the local court, where lower penalties apply. Mr Cheetham said he would have imposed a sentence of two years and three months, but the maximum full-time jail term that can be handed down in that jurisdiction is two years. A GARAGE owner had drunk up to a dozen beers and taken cocaine when he threw a knife at a former employee who had come to help him work on a car, causing a catastrophic eye injury. Ben Renyard was sentenced in Newcastle Local Court on Friday to two years behind bars, with a non-parole period of 16 months, after pleading guilty to recklessly causing grievous bodily harm. The 37-year-old man had messaged a 26-year-old man, his former employee, multiple times asking him to help work on a car at Morpeth Motor Garage on the evening of July 3 last year. But Renyard was highly intoxicated when the younger man and his mate turned up. Renyard had drunk up to 12 beers and two bottles of sambuca, and had taken cocaine and 10 Endone tablets. Renyard was "playing" with a three-inch foldable knife and stabbing a cardboard box when the men said they had to leave. Renyard threw a bottle across the workshop, smashing it. Suddenly, completely unprovoked and without warning, Renyard threw the blade in the direction of the two men, striking the 26-year-old in the eye. The victim felt something smack him in the head, and a knife fell onto the ground when he touched his face. Blood was flowing. "You f---ing got me, Ben," the victim screamed. Renyard offered to drive the man to the hospital and said, "Shit, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened". The man's friend took the victim to Maitland Hospital but he was transferred to John Hunter Hospital due to the seriousness of the injury. The 26-year-old underwent multiple eye surgeries over a period of months but ultimately had his eye removed after doctors could not find the 7.5-millimetre piece of metal that was embedded in it. A victim impact statement detailing the emotional and physical trauma the incident had caused and how the "future cannot be measured at this time" was handed up to the court. The victim faces further surgical intervention. Magistrate Ian Cheetham said at sentencing on Friday that the victim felt embarrassed and struggled with self-confidence. "It is entirely accepted that suffering such a significant injury ... his life has been forever affected," Mr Cheetham said. "The loss is permanent." The court heard Renyard had lived through a rough upbringing and struggled with several health conditions, including substance abuse disorders and mental illness. The court heard he continued to have the support of his family and had expressed remorse and "devastation" for causing the victim to lose the eye. Mr Cheetham said Renyard's conduct had caused a "permanent and serious disfiguring injury", but it was his inability to control his impulses that had caused him to recklessly throw the knife, rather than a deliberate action. "There was no planning or evidence of malice," he said. Mr Cheetham found special circumstances in the case. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) prosecuted the case in the local court, where lower penalties apply. Mr Cheetham said he would have imposed a sentence of two years and three months, but the maximum full-time jail term that can be handed down in that jurisdiction is two years. A GARAGE owner had drunk up to a dozen beers and taken cocaine when he threw a knife at a former employee who had come to help him work on a car, causing a catastrophic eye injury. Ben Renyard was sentenced in Newcastle Local Court on Friday to two years behind bars, with a non-parole period of 16 months, after pleading guilty to recklessly causing grievous bodily harm. The 37-year-old man had messaged a 26-year-old man, his former employee, multiple times asking him to help work on a car at Morpeth Motor Garage on the evening of July 3 last year. But Renyard was highly intoxicated when the younger man and his mate turned up. Renyard had drunk up to 12 beers and two bottles of sambuca, and had taken cocaine and 10 Endone tablets. Renyard was "playing" with a three-inch foldable knife and stabbing a cardboard box when the men said they had to leave. Renyard threw a bottle across the workshop, smashing it. Suddenly, completely unprovoked and without warning, Renyard threw the blade in the direction of the two men, striking the 26-year-old in the eye. The victim felt something smack him in the head, and a knife fell onto the ground when he touched his face. Blood was flowing. "You f---ing got me, Ben," the victim screamed. Renyard offered to drive the man to the hospital and said, "Shit, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened". The man's friend took the victim to Maitland Hospital but he was transferred to John Hunter Hospital due to the seriousness of the injury. The 26-year-old underwent multiple eye surgeries over a period of months but ultimately had his eye removed after doctors could not find the 7.5-millimetre piece of metal that was embedded in it. A victim impact statement detailing the emotional and physical trauma the incident had caused and how the "future cannot be measured at this time" was handed up to the court. The victim faces further surgical intervention. Magistrate Ian Cheetham said at sentencing on Friday that the victim felt embarrassed and struggled with self-confidence. "It is entirely accepted that suffering such a significant injury ... his life has been forever affected," Mr Cheetham said. "The loss is permanent." The court heard Renyard had lived through a rough upbringing and struggled with several health conditions, including substance abuse disorders and mental illness. The court heard he continued to have the support of his family and had expressed remorse and "devastation" for causing the victim to lose the eye. Mr Cheetham said Renyard's conduct had caused a "permanent and serious disfiguring injury", but it was his inability to control his impulses that had caused him to recklessly throw the knife, rather than a deliberate action. "There was no planning or evidence of malice," he said. Mr Cheetham found special circumstances in the case. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) prosecuted the case in the local court, where lower penalties apply. Mr Cheetham said he would have imposed a sentence of two years and three months, but the maximum full-time jail term that can be handed down in that jurisdiction is two years.
7NEWS
a day ago
- 7NEWS
Isla Fisher addresses Erin Patterson movie rumours after mum convicted of murdering three with death cap mushrooms
Australian actress Isla Fisher has spoken out about portraying mass murderer Erin Patterson amid rumours the now notorious case will soon be turned into a movie or TV show. In a new interview, the ex-Home and Away star discussed the possibility of playing the convicted killer. On July 7, a jury found 50-year-old Patterson Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Patterson served her guests the deadly meal during a visit to her home in Leongatha, in regional Victoria, in July 2023. The mother-of-two was convicted of killing her estranged husband Simon's parents Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, 66. She was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Wilkinson's husband, Ian, 68. The infamous case is expected to be dramatised for TV and film with a Netflix crew spotted outside the Morwell courtroom during the week the jury deliberated and the ABC greenlighting a drama series to be based on Patterson's trial. And in a new interview with Harper's BAZAAR this week — Fisher hinted she'd love to be involved. ''Do you think I could play her?'', Fisher asked the interviewer. The journalist swiftly replied 'No', explaining that Fisher bore little resemblance to Patterson. Despite the differences in looks, Fisher has played difficult and dark characters before. One of her first acting roles was playing Shannon Reed, a teenager living with an eating disorder, on Australia's favourite TV drama, Home and Away. Since then, her impressive 30-year career has included a range of roles. Fisher has starred in a number of blockbuster Hollywood rom-coms, including Wedding Crashers and Confessions of a Shopaholic. She's also played a magician in Now You See Me and portrayed a reclusive columnist hiding her true identity as a werewolf in the TV series, Wolf Life Me. The Hollywood actress, who shares three children with ex-husband comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, currently lives in London, UK, but grew up in Perth, Western Australia. Patterson is awaiting sentencing after the jury found her guilty on all counts of murder and attempted murder last month. The first dramatisation of her trial and case is expected to come from the ABC. The national broadcaster's show — called Toxic — hails from renowned Australian filmmakers Tony Ayres and Elise McCredie, who are working with journalist Rachael Brown. Toxic will be told from multiple perspectives, and according to the filmmakers will be presented 'without judgment'. It's been billed as a thriller that will delve into her motherhood, faith and marriage. 'True stories ask storytellers to probe the complexities of human behaviour. What really lies beneath the headlines? It's both a challenge and a responsibility to go beyond the surface — to reveal, not just sensationalise,' Ayres said in a statement. Allen & Unwin also announced the release of The Mushroom Murders, by true-crime author Greg Haddrick, on sale in November.
West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
Locals say dramatic rescue effort to retrieve Carolina Wilga's bogged van took more than four days
Wheatbelt residents have revealed it took more than four days to manage to retrieve German backpacker Carolina Wilga's van from the remote area in which it was trapped. The 26-year-old German backpacker miraculously survived 11 nights alone in the remote Wheatbelt bush after crashing her car, hitting her head and wandering off in a state of confusion. She survived by drinking rainwater from puddles and sleeping in a cave before she was spotted by local farmer Tania French near Beacon. Bonnie Rock farmer Andrew Sprigg said he rallied a group of locals together after learning the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions had been called in to retrieve the van. He said the vehicle was removed by a 20t loader which ploughed through the dense bushland last weekend. 'I heard the DBCA were in charge with the recovery and I knew their resources would be stretched, so I contacted (a mate) in Merredin and we got approval to run a loader out there to clear the track,' he told The West Australian. 'We thought we could do it with an old 4WD but (the bush) was too thick. 'There's no track . . . the police damaged their vehicles extensively getting down the track as it was.' Mr Sprigg said it took four days to retrieve the van, and said it was being stored in a local shed for one of Ms Wilga's friends to collect. Fellow farmer Kim Graham helped with the retrieval and said he was happy to lend a hand, given his extensive knowledge of the land. 'At the end of the day you've got someone from the other side of the world that needs a hand, and it's not the most easiest terrain for the authorities to get to,' he told 6PR on Thursday. 'I suppose being locals, we've got a bit of an idea (about the area) . . . for us guys to be able to help out, it's the least we can do, that's what the community does.' '(We knew) it was going to be tough terrain to retrieve, and probably going to cost more than it's even worth for the authorities to do it, and for us guys to be help out ... that's what the community does.' He said the van was in 'pretty good condition' with some 'minor dents and scratches.' Mr Graham said he was part of the initial search effort to find Ms Wilga and said it was a miracle she was found alive. 'We put our plane up and we had guys on the ground looking around with utes and motorbikes,' he said. 'At the end of the day she's got a story to tell, she may not have made it (because) it was -4C here one morning, (it was) pretty tough conditions, so she's very, very lucky. 'I think it's probably a good lesson if we're to take the positives out of it, and that's to make sure that we're covered with our safety whether it's (taking) EPIRBs or satellites if we're going off grid.' Mr Sprigg urged travellers to educate themselves on WA's harsh climate before venturing into the outback. 'My cousin hires campervans out and he has a lot of issues with European backpackers, they follow Google Maps and it leads them into all sorts of strange places,' he said. 'I think there needs to be better planning and better safety and awareness.' Ms Wilga spent four nights recovering in Fiona Stanley Hospital before being discharged on July 16. She returned her family's home town, Castrop-Rauxe, on July 20.
