Mushroom cook Erin Patterson accused of tampering with prison food that allegedly caused another inmate to fall ill
The claim was made by a fellow inmate at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, a maximum-security women's prison in Melbourne, where Patterson was being held on remand, the Herald Sun reports.
Her legal team has denied any wrongdoing, describing the accusation as 'baseless.' A Justice Department spokesperson later confirmed there was 'no evidence to support that there has been any contaminated food or suspected poisonings at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.' The department also stated that Patterson had never been in a position to prepare meals for other prisoners.
Reporting on the alleged incident was previously restricted while Patterson's trial was ongoing.
Inside the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, sources described Patterson as 'entitled' during her time on remand. 'All the girls have issues with each other in there,' one insider said. 'The unit Erin was housed in was almost like a melting pot of tension as they are confined to the middle of the jail and have to be escorted anywhere they go.'
She had been incarcerated since November 2023, charged with the murder of Don and Gail Patterson, both aged 70, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.
She was also charged with the attempted murder of Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, 71 — the sole survivor of the fatal meal.
According to sources, tensions had been escalating between Patterson and other inmates in the unit last year.
It was during this time that one prisoner reportedly fell ill after consuming a meal prepared in the shared unit.
Patterson was subsequently placed in solitary confinement — referred to as 'the slot' — for more than 22 hours a day while prison officers investigated the incident.
Patterson was found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Four additional attempted murder charges, relating to her former husband Simon Patterson, were withdrawn prior to the trial.
The conditions of Patterson's detention also became a point of contention during her trial. In the absence of the jury, her barrister, Colin Mandy SC, told Justice Christopher Beale that his client had been denied basic items while held at Morwell Police Station.
'She didn't have access to her brief, she didn't have access to writing materials,' he said. 'She had agreed with Corrections that she could have a doona and a pillow and she wasn't given those things.'
Mr Mandy argued that Patterson required 'special treatment' to ensure she could participate in her defence, given the scale of the case and the volume of evidence.
'She spent the night cold — and awake because she was cold — and she can't operate like that,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Telegraph
8 minutes ago
- Daily Telegraph
‘Idiots': Teens filmed riding e-bikes through food court
Don't miss out on the headlines from On the Road. Followed categories will be added to My News. A group of teens have been blasted as 'idiots' after they were filmed speeding on e-bikes through a busy Sydney food court. The footage, uploaded to Reddit on Wednesday, showed at least four teens riding Lime e-bikes through the George Street Event Cinemas complex, sparking a flood of angry comments. 'Am I the only person that really hates the effing things?' one person wrote. 'They have made central Sydney look like a scrapdealer's yard.' Another said, 'As great an innovation that they are, e-scooters and bikes are going to cause more and more problems in the hands of idiots and the immature.' 'I've seen the same with idiots seeing how fast they can go through the crowded pedestrian walkways of Barangaroo and Darling Harbour,' a third wrote. Spokespeople for the City of Sydney and NSW Transport Minister John Graham declined to comment. NSW Police and Lime have been contacted for comment. The proliferation of share bikes and scooters in Australian cities in recent years has sparked growing concerns about cluttered footpaths, anti-social behaviour and safety of pedestrians and riders. Last week a 14-year-old boy died in hospital after he was critically hurt falling from an e-bike in Arncliffe Park, in Sydney's south. Earlier this year, The Daily Telegraph reported e-bike and e-scooter injuries had risen 300 per cent at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, from six in 2023 to 24 last year, The majority of incidents involved riders hitting stationary cars or being hit by moving vehicles. More than 3000 e-bikes are estimated to be available for hire in the city. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers While Lime, the longest-operating 'micro-mobility company' in Australia and New Zealand, states riders must be over 18, the bikes have exploded in popularity among children and teens who flout the rules and rarely wear helmets. More than one million e-bikes and e-scooters are used by residents in NSW and the government is now preparing regulations in response to an inquiry that examined their use across the state. The inquiry found that while shared e-bike operators claimed to have technology and staff to manage parking and pathway obstruction issues, the reality was far different, as problems increasingly persisted. It was recommended the state work with councils to include e-bike parking on roads and allocate existing car spaces for e-mobility parking in some areas. Mr Graham said in a statement last month there was still a lot of work to do, but a sensible set of rules would promote the benefits of e-bikes and e-scooters while protecting the safety of everyone sharing the paths and roads with them. 'We recognise the community's concerns, particularly around device modification, fire risk, discarded shared e-bikes and poor rider behaviour — which is why we're taking action,' he said. The City of Sydney estimates more than 3000 e-bikes are available for hire in the city, and another 1500 are being used by citizens and food delivery services. Designated parking areas for e-bikes have been allocated in some parts of the city but only accommodate up to 25 bikes, leaving areas cluttered with bikes. In April, the City supported a recommendation made by the Local Pedestrian, Cycling and Traffic Calming Committee to reallocate road space for bike parking to maintain footpath space along Victoria Street. The state government has acknowledged concerns about poor rider behaviour. Picture: Reddit The committee found the number of food delivery and share bikes parked on footpaths had significantly increased. A City of Sydney spokesman previously said about 60,000 share bike trips were taken each week in their local government area, with 20,000 trips starting or ending around Victoria Street. The City provided 13 designated share bike parking areas on footpaths last year that accommodate between four and 10 bikes and was working with operators to update its apps so users parked in designated areas. The first on-street bike parking was implemented in Haymarket, with nine other sites approved for installation in the coming weeks that will accommodate up to 25 bikes in Potts Point, Millers Point, Chippendale, Zetland and Paddington. 'Data provided by share bike companies show that in 2024 more than 20,000 share bike trips started or ended on Victoria St or on nearby streets,' a spokesman said. 'We are proposing to add a further four designated on-street bicycle parking areas on a trial basis in Potts Point. 'While the City of Sydney doesn't have any regulatory control nor enforceable powers, we are engaging with bike share operators so they can address the concerns of the community regarding the parking of their assets.' Some councils have already taken action on safety concerns. In March, Waverley Council — which covers suburbs including Bondi, Bronte, and Dover Heights — announced bikes would be impounded if the operators did not reach an agreement to make their use safer and better regulated. Lime and HelloRide subsequently signed onto the memorandum of understanding, which set a maximum number of bikes available at any one point in time, provided designated parking locations and restricted parking zones, and implemented geofencing technology to define no-go zones. Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh declared at the time that 'enough is enough'. 'While share bikes are a State Government responsibility, Council will not stand by and wait for somebody to be injured,' he said. 'Impounding bikes that are causing a safety risk will immediately reduce the likelihood of harm to residents and visitors.' — with NCA NewsWire Originally published as 'Idiots': Teens filmed riding e-bikes through food court
Daily Telegraph
8 minutes ago
- Daily Telegraph
Junior doctor at Melbourne's Austin Hospital arrested after camera allegedly found in staff bathroom
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News. A trainee surgeon at Melbourne's Austin Hospital has been arrested for allegedly filming colleagues inside a staff toilet. The 27-year-old's Heidelberg West home was raided this morning, after a phone was allegedly found in a staff toilet at the hospital in Melbourne's north on July 3. 'Mernda Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT) investigators have arrested a man following an incident at a medical facility in Heidelberg,' Victoria Police said in a statement. 'It is alleged a recording device in the form of a mobile phone was located in a restricted staff toilet of a medical facility in Heidelberg on July 3. 'The device is believed to have been in place for some time before staff became aware and reported the matter to police. The 27-year-old was arrested on Thursday. Picture: Victoria Police 'As a result, police executed a warrant at an address in Heidelberg West this morning, 10 July.' The man is currently being interviewed by police. 'We take the safety and wellbeing of our staff extremely seriously and recently made a formal report to Victoria Police,' a spokeswoman for Austin Health told 'As this matter is now with the police, we are not able to share more information about the nature of the report.' More to come Originally published as Junior doctor at Melbourne's Austin Hospital arrested after camera allegedly found in staff bathroom
News.com.au
17 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Man's body found at popular Northern Territory tourist spot
A grim discovery has been made at a popular tourist attraction in the Northern Territory two days after an interstate visitor mysteriously disappeared from the idyllic location. The body of a 57-year-old man was recovered earlier on Thursday from Edith Falls, also known as Leliyn, in Nitmiluk National Park, about 290km south of Darwin. The man had last been seen entering a plunge pool at Edith Falls about 3pm on Tuesday. As per the NT News, a witness reported the man who had been swimming with his family struggled in the water at the lower pool, and failed to resurface. In a statement, NT Police said officers 'located and recovered the man's body a short time ago near one of the waterfalls'. 'At this stage, police do not believe the death to be suspicious and was the result of a medical incident,' the statement read The upper and lower pools at Edith Falls, along with the walking track to the upper pool, are expected to remain closed for the remainder of Thursday. 'Yesterday, the floor of the Edith Falls plunge pool was being surveyed and live scanned,' Search and Rescue Section (SRS) officer in charge Paul Wood said on Thursday. 'SRS has four trained divers who commenced an underwater search, keeping in mind visibility below 10m is approximately 0.5m. 'There is a lot of debris, rock, ledges, branches and tree trunks that is being searched.' Senior Sergeant Wood said police suspected the man suffered a medical episode and did not believe a crocodile was involved.
