How Erin Patterson failed in her bid to keep her darkest secrets hidden from the public - as court makes HUGE call
Patterson, 50, wore a black top and glasses as she faced Melbourne 's Supreme Court on Friday morning by video link from prison for a brief hearing.
Justice Christopher Beale set down two days for Patterson's plea hearing, which prosecutors said would include 'a lot' of victim impact statements.
The hearing will take place on August 25 and 26 at the court in Melbourne and not Morwell, where the near-three-month trial was held, due to maintenance issues.
Prosecutor Jane Warren confirmed the first day of the hearing would be taken up with statements from victims, including family and friends of the three people she murdered: Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Heather Wilkinson, 66.
The sole survivor of the deadly July 2023 lunch, Ian Wilkinson, is also likely to give the court his statement.
After firming up court dates, Justice Beale overturned an application by Patterson's legal team to keep all pre-trial evidence secret to preserve her appeal rights.
Patterson cannot lodge an appeal until after she is sentenced.
Her defence team had argued pre-trial evidence should not be released to media due to 'unprecedented' reporting, with several podcasts, documentaries and a mini-series in development.
Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC claimed releasing the evidence could leave an indelible impression on a jury if she successfully appealed and faced a retrial.
However, media argued against the claim, saying it was 'speculative' she would face another trial and that jurors would be directed not to engage with the evidence.
Justice Beale found that it was 'unlikely' an appeal of Patterson's conviction would succeed, but that - and the possibility of a retrial - could not be excluded.
He ultimately ruled in favour of the media and did not make a suppression order over the evidence.
'Open justice is a fundamental concern of our criminal justice jurisdiction,' he said.
The ruling means that evidence, including information about the alleged attempted poisonings of her husband, Simon Patterson, can now be reported.
The judge also approved release of Patterson's police interview.
Patterson was found guilty of three murders and one attempted murder over the July 29, 2023, lunch at her home in Leongatha.
The mother-of-two deliberately served up a death cap mushroom-laced beef Wellington to Don, Gail, Heather and Ian.
She pleaded not guilty and denied all charges, including over the alleged attempted murder of Simon.
Those charges were dropped at the beginning of her trial in April.
Patterson spent eight days in the witness box during her regional Victorian trial, where she admitted a series of lies and said she may have accidentally included foraged mushrooms in the beef Wellington.
This included lies to police about her interest in wild mushrooms, and lies about owning a food dehydrator which she dumped at a local tip.
The trial became a media circus, involving 252 media outlets including 15 international outlets, making it the biggest matter the Supreme Court has managed in recent history.
Patterson will have 28 days to lodge an appeal after she is sentenced.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Foreign lags are set to be deported straight after jail term & won't be able to appeal until they're abroad
MORE foreign lags are set to be deported straight after their jail term — and they won't be able to appeal until they are back home. A scheme — called Deport Now, Appeal Later — that covered offenders from just eight countries is being expanded to 23. Foreign criminals are put on flights immediately after their sentence — and they can only fight the decision once they are back in their own country. It aims to stop deportation cases clogging up UK courts. The countries to be added are Angola, Australia, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Uganda and Zambia. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'For far too long, foreign criminals have been exploiting our immigration system, remaining in the UK for years while their appeals drag on. "That has to end — those who commit crimes in our country cannot be allowed to manipulate the system.' Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'We are leading diplomatic efforts to increase the number of countries where foreign criminals can be swiftly returned. "And if they want to appeal, they can do so safely from their home country.' Nearly 5,200 foreign lags have been removed since July 2024 — up 14 per cent on the previous year. The expansion of the scheme, which will go before MPs 'in due course', comes after steps were announced to allow foreign offenders to be deported after sentencing. Instead of going to jail, they will be flown home. But the plan, which Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said would save £54,000 a year per prisoner, faced Tory criticism. Ex-Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said it gives a green light to foreign crooks, adding: 'They will think the worst that can happen to me is that I'll be put on a plane.' 1
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Deranged inmates volunteering at an Australian animal shelter are accused of heinous act against guinea pigs: ‘Disturbing'
Prisoners volunteering at an animal shelter have been accused of eating the creatures they were meant to be caring for. The 'disturbing' allegations were uncovered when guards found guinea pig meat and carcasses in a fridge at the Wooroloo Prison farm, 45km from Perth. Inmates are believed to have skinned and slaughtered the disowned pets at the farm before smuggling the meat back into prison where it was cooked and shared around. Guinea pig meat, which are routinely eaten in South America and Asia, is considered to have a gamey flavour that tastes more meatier than rabbit. Those involved in the alleged meat trade have since been subject to lengthy interrogation and the work-release program has been shut down by jail bosses. 'All Section 95 activities from Wooroloo in the community are suspended pending the outcome of investigations,' Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce told The West. 'It's particularly concerning given the Section 95 community work program is an integral part of the Department's rehabilitation and reintegration efforts, demonstrating the valuable contributions prisoners can make to Western Australian communities.' Prior to the scandal breaking out, the work-release program had been considered one of the WA prison system's most successful initiatives.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Influencer Indy Clinton exposes the real identities of cruel trolls who called her a 'child abuser' - as she seeks legal action against 15 people who targeted her with sick taunts
Indy Clinton has revealed that she is seriously considering taking legal action against 15 individuals who targeted her on social media. The Sydney-based influencer told this week's issue of Stellar Magazine that she has suffered continuous online trolling from anonymous accounts, for posting images and video of her young children on social media. The 28-year-old, who boasts 645,000 Instagram followers and 2.1 million TikTok followers, shares her children Navy, four, Bambi, two, and Soul, one, with her realtor husband Ben Azar. 'They'd likened me to Ruby Franke. A convicted child abuser who tortured her children for years and years – didn't feed them, tied them up with metal chains,' Indy explained. 'I was lost for words. My heart was racing, and my eyes just filled up with tears.' Fed up by the abuse, which she says negatively impacted her parenting, Indy hired Cybertrace, a company which worked with her over 12 weeks to track down the identities of the faceless trolls who had left nasty comments on her social media. Indy ended up with a list of the 15 worst offenders, and she was shocked to discover their true identities. 'The craziest statistic that came out of doing this was the fact that the majority of these people are mothers with multiple children – and some had high-paying jobs,' she said. With the help of Cybertrace, which she paid $8000 for their private investigation skills, Indy collected enough information to track these women down. 'I know what hospitals they gave birth at, their obstetrician's name, their tattoo regrets, their ABNs, home addresses, their last home address before they moved, their current jobs, their previous jobs, which hairdresser they use,' she said. Indy has faced a barrage of criticism for footage she has posted of her children in the past. In February, she was slammed online for letting her three young children create a mess at a cafe. The Sydney-based influencer shared two posts to her Instagram story showing her spilling drinks and food on the floor at the establishment. After she made the posts, online spaces were flooded with comments about Indy's 'lack of parenting skills.' In January, she clapped back at a hurtful follower after they publicly accused her of letting her four-year-old son get sunburned during a beach trip. The Aussie TikTok star posted a clip to Instagram which captured the highlights of the outing, and one troll asked her why she had allowed her son to get sunburned after noticing scrapes on his back. 'Navy scraped his back on a rock, it's not peeling. You're all so concerned about my kids' sun safety, but have you ever seen them sunburned?' she said. 'I'm born and raised at the beach, I know how to keep them safe. Get a hobby, get laid or go find God because you need something better to do than making up stories about me and my kids,' she added. Indy was also extensively trolled after she underwent rhinoplasty in March. After revealing her updated nose, some compared her to Michael Jackson and said she has 'ruined her face'.
