Latest news with #Morwell
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Who is mushroom killer Erin Patterson's dearest bosom buddy? Ali stood by her throughout everything - and was her ONLY friend in court when the jury found her guilty of murder
Apart from Erin Patterson 's own legal team, who were paid to be there, just one person turned up in court every single day to support the triple killer. Alison Rose Prior, known as Ali, has been the most devoted loyal friend Erin - or anyone else - could ever have hoped for. Day after day, regardless of the incriminating evidence, bitter cold or ever-growing media pack, Ms Prior stuck by her friend through thick and thin. And when the jury delivered its damning series of ' verdicts, it was Ms Prior the killer immediately turned to. 'See you soon,' Patterson told her bosom buddy before being led away to begin her likely life sentence behind bars for the three murders and one attempted murder. Ms Prior left the court thronged by media, and as she fought back tears behind large sunglasses, she told reporters: 'I'm saddened.' Escorted by G4S security staff through the precincts of Morwell Law Courts - where the Supreme Court had held Patterson's ten-week trial - Ms Prior battled to keep her composure. 'I didn't have any expectations,' she added. 'It's the justice system and it is what it is.' Patterson was later whisked away to Dame Phyllis Frost prison, 200km away on the other side of Melbourne, far from her Leongatha home in Gippsland. But despite the distance, Ms Prior immediately vowed to remain Patterson's best mate as the mother-of-two now faces decades behind bars. 'I will see her,' Ms Prior defiantly insisted to a reporter's question. 'I'm her friend and I'll see her - I'll visit with her.' Ms Prior begged media to leave her alone so she could get to her car. As a sign of the intensity and closeness of their relationship, Patterson has granted Ms Prior complete power of attorney over her estate, giving her carte blanche over her substantial wealth and property. The pair are believed to have met through Facebook, where Patterson was an avid contributor to several True Crime groups. Ms Prior, who has a daughter with a rare genetic condition, had previously campaigned locally to reform the law on registering sex offenders and to prevent them living near schools. In the weeks after the agonising deaths of her estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson - who were fatally poisoned by the beef Wellingtons she laced with death cap mushrooms - Patterson fled her Leongatha home as the net closed in on her. Patterson is said to have bunkered down at Ms Prior's four-bedroom bungalow, set in lush woodlands on the edge of rural Healesville, 65km north-east of Melbourne, as detectives pored over her own home looking for murder clues. Black sheets appeared around Patterson's Leongatha home ahead of the jury's verdict The night before Patterson was finally arrested, she threw a party at her home for Ms Prior and three other close female friends. On the evening of Wednesday, November 1, 2023, Patterson held the knees-up at the Leongatha property for her dwindling inner circle of friends. The weeknight gathering is believed to have been small and included Patterson's two children, a girl and a boy (who can't be identified for legal reasons). But it was still noisy enough that it was noticed by neighbours, who speculated Patterson threw the party in the certain knowledge that those murder charges were imminent. As the jury retired to consider her guilt 18 months later, it was rumoured Patterson would once again return to Ms Prior's home to hide out from the media if she was found innocent. Instead though, the jury unanimously found her guilty - and she was transported by prison van to her new jail cell as one of Australia's most notorious killers. The verdict ends one of the nation's most intriguing homicide cases - and now Patterson likely only has prison visits from Ms Prior to look forward to.
News.com.au
12-07-2025
- News.com.au
‘A bit of a Hogwarts special': Why society is obsessed with female killers
Erin Patterson looks much like you'd expect any middle-aged Australian woman to – brown hair, glasses, unremarkable clothes. As University of Sydney criminologist Dr Helen Easton pointed out, 'she could be your sister, your mum, your aunty, a neighbour'. At a glance, you wouldn't assume the mother-of-two to be capable of triple murder. Yet on Monday, Patterson was found guilty by a unanimous jury of killing her husband's parents and aunt, and attempting to kill his uncle, with a death cap mushroom-laced beef wellington lunch on July 29, 2023. The 50-year-old, who is yet to be sentenced, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Patterson's case has captivated the world. Newspapers from New York to New Delhi followed every twist of the trial, nicknaming her the 'Mushroom Killer'. Podcasters, film crews and true-crime fanatics descended on the rural town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet in Victoria better known for its prize-winning roses. It's unlikely this appetite for the case will be sated any time soon, either. Following the verdict, the ABC, streaming giant Stan and multiple publishers announced a drama series, a three-part documentary and books, respectively, inspired by or about the saga, all pegged for release within the next year. The reasons behind our rabid interest in Patterson, Dr Easton told are manifold, and largely united by a common thread: 'The available data, which for crime data is very accurate, tells us that women, on the whole, tend not to kill.' 'A powerful breach of gender norms' In Australia, per the most recent Institute of Criminology statistics, the male homicide offender rate was 2.45 per 100,000 men – almost seven times the female offender rate of 0.36 per 100,000 women. Of the 314 identified homicides between 2019 and 2020, 87 per cent were committed by men. When women do kill, Dr Easton explained, 'there is usually some connection to having experienced extreme, and often continued, violence or coercive control from their victim'. In cases of infanticide, 'women most often kill in a moment of diminished responsibility or automatism, connected to post-natal psychiatric illness'. 'Patterson's actions are therefore incredibly unusual,' Dr Easton said. 'Not only are they a breach of social norms, but they are also a powerful breach of gender norms. 'Stereotypes of women, which have historic origins but continue to inform legal processes to this day, suggest women to be caring, passive, and emotional – rather than the calculated, heartless and unemotional organiser of a poisoned Sunday lunch.' Society is 'always shocked', Swinburne University's Loryn Sykes said, when it's reminded that women 'have the capacity for violence and murder, as we don't see women as a threat to our collective safety'. 'We associate violence with the realm of men (because) violence is seen as masculine behaviour,' Ms Sykes, who is hoping to complete a PhD in true-crime podcasting, told Given the perception of male killers as 'a broader threat' to the general public than their female counterparts – especially if their victims are young women or girls – their crimes can be a catalyst for mass outrage, increased concern about the level of safety in the community, and even legislative change, she said. 'Murders committed by women, on the other hand, are not seen or framed as a threat … in the same way,' Ms Sykes said. 'Instead, the focus of media and public outrage is about condemning the individual women who perpetrated these murders rather than … what the crime says about the state of the world we live in. 'I think this is the reason why the public's response to this case is more about making fun of Erin Patterson – rather than being genuinely fearful of her.' 'A bit of a Hogwarts special' Patterson's crimes evoke imagery of the Victorian era, Ms Sykes said, pointing to the cases of Christiana Edmunds, the so-called 'Chocolate Cream Killer' of 1871, and Marie-Fortunée Larfarge, who poisoned her husband with arsenic in 1840. 'Even though women killing their family members is quite rare, the narrative of women murdering via poisoning is familiar enough of a trope in true crime that news outlets can craft a story that audiences can recognise and follow along with easily,' she added. The murder weapon itself plays into this narrative, Dr Easton said. 'Mushrooms are a mysterious and magical food – growing out of decay and … a key ingredient in the potions knocked up by witches,' she said. 'It offers up another stereotype Patterson can be associated with – the ugly, middle-aged witch or hag, again confirming her as evil. The mystery and magic of mushrooms and the mundanity of a Sunday lunch create contrast and interest in the story – a bit of a Hogwarts special. 'The fact that Erin's husband – and likely his larger family – were religious and therefore 'good' people further strengthens this contrast, and we enter the familiar narrative of the battle between good and evil.' 'Without the truth, Erin seems 'mad'' Most 'intriguing' of all – at least for Dr Easton – is Patterson's lack of a motive. 'Perhaps (the crime) would be more understandable had Erin's husband had an affair and his family supported him (in his infidelity), or if there was money involved which Erin would only inherit after the deaths of her husband and relatives,' she said. 'This remains a mystery in this case – and perhaps if the truth were out there, it would be a lot less interesting. Without the truth, Erin seems 'mad' – we can't see killing people as normal behaviour.' Criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett said on The Trial podcast earlier this week that she and renowned criminal psychologist Dr Tim Watson-Munro had 'picked apart' Patterson's personality as they observed the case, in a bid to understand what prompted her to target her extended family. 'It appears, or what I believe happened is, she has this simmering rage for Simon and perhaps felt that his family hadn't supported her,' Dr Mallett said, referring to text messages tendered as evidence during the trial that demonstrated 'some tensions within the family'. 'And therefore some of that rage is transferred to them, and she felt justified in harming them because of this … and therefore she is protecting herself.'
ABC News
11-07-2025
- ABC News
The fallout from Erin Patterson's mushroom murder convictions is far from over
The skies were clear and the sun was out on Monday afternoon in the regional Victorian town of Morwell. For a week, those involved with the trial and many more watching around the world had been on edge, waiting, as the jury in Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial deliberated. Suddenly, the news rippled across the court precinct: the jury would return its verdict at 2:15pm. A trial that had been played out to audiences across the globe had reached a crescendo. Adrenaline coursing, those at court craned heads and listened intently as the jury's foreperson delivered the crucial verdicts: guilty on all four counts. In a matter of minutes, a tension built over weeks of legal arguments and disputed versions of what happened the day Patterson hosted her in-laws for lunch was resolved. The jury had given the community its answer: the 50-year-old mother of two was a murderer, who had spent weeks planning how to conceal a deadly toxin in a meal served to her trusting in-laws. She had murdered her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, who had checked in on her and prayed for her good health in the weeks before the meal. She had murdered her father-in-law Don Patterson, depriving him of the opportunity to spend more time with his grandson sharing their passion for flying. She had murdered Heather Wilkinson, who had offered love and support after the birth of Simon and Erin's daughter. And she had attempted to murder Ian Wilkinson, the spiritual leader of her family's church community. Immediately after the verdicts, the courtyard outside the courtroom was abuzz. A thick media scrum hovered at the courtroom doors, swarming around those linked to the case as they left the building. The responses from key parties was minimal: there was no comment from her barrister Colin Mandy SC, and police spoke only briefly to acknowledge the work of detectives and the families who had endured two years of investigations and legal proceedings. "We will continue to support [the families] in every way possible following this decision," a Victoria Police spokesperson said. So far, the Wilkinson and Patterson families have made no comment. The stratospheric interest in the case has been unprecedented in recent history, according to the Victorian Supreme Court. More than 250 journalists and outlets were on the court's media management list for the trial, including more than a dozen media outlets across the UK, US and New Zealand. There were slips along the way for media covering the trial too. Perhaps the most high-profile was carried out by Australia radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie "O" Henderson, whose on-air banter during the trial attracted the ire of Justice Christopher Beale. In the June 16 radio segment, the pair discussed the case in highly prejudicial terms, including Sandilands, who issued a call to "lock that bitch up"'. That afternoon, while the jury was out of the room, Justice Beale told the court he had read a transcript of the segment. "I encourage all commentators to engage their brains before they open their mouths, as they may otherwise land themselves and their organisations in hot water," he said. Justice Beale referred the matter to the Office of Public Prosecutions for possible contempt of court charges. The office is yet to reveal whether it will lay charges against the pair. The verdict also marks the end of an extraordinary journey for the 12 jurors who sat through the lengthy trial to deliver the verdict. They were among 15,000 people identified in the Latrobe Valley district in February to help cover five Supreme and County court sittings between late April and August 1. That list was further whittled down through availability to 112 people who presented for potential empanelment in the case on April 29. Justice Christopher Beale gave them the opportunity to read through a list of 137 names, including witnesses, places and lawyers involved in the case. "As potential jurors, you have to consider whether you can bring an impartial, open mind to the consideration of the evidence that will be led in this case and can decide the case solely on that evidence," he said. "If you can't do that, or if you think you may struggle to do that, if you have doubts about your capacity to do that, you must ask to be excused." A further 27 people were excused and a panel of 15 people was drawn from the remaining 85. They ranged in age from their 20s to their 70s. Finally, 12 of them formed the panel that deliberated and reached a verdict on Monday, to thanks from Justice Beale. "The way you've conducted yourself throughout this trial has caught my attention and you've remained in good spirits even though the trial went much longer than you were led to believe and even though this was a major intrusion in all your lives," the judge said. As they return to normal life, the jurors are given access to free and confidential counselling. While the ripples of the verdict continue to be felt, back in Morwell things quickly turned back to normal. On Tuesday afternoon, the courtyard outside the courtrooms was empty — cold wind whipping leaves across a space that just 24 hours earlier had been a frenzy of activity. Workers emptying the bin in the middle of the courtyard saw the detritus left behind, including a pile of coffee cups. In the coming weeks, Patterson's sentencing process will begin — and the possibility of an appeal against her convictions still hangs in the air. But as news of the verdicts settles, the unfailing dignity and sense of humanity that drove her victims remains in focus in their home town of Korumburra. After an inspection of the evidence, the jury found those honourable values exemplified in life by Don, Gail and Heather were utterly absent in their killer.
SBS Australia
11-07-2025
- SBS Australia
'I captured her misery': Courtroom artist on drawing killer Erin Patterson
For most of Australia, it's just a regular Monday. But two hours' drive from Melbourne, a courtroom in the small country town of Morwell is buzzing. Media from across the country have assembled, armed with notepads, ready to devour every detail of the day's proceedings. Among the sea of journalists, artist Anita Lester stands out. "Someone like me comes in and I'm like, sweating on the iPad ... frantically sketching," she says. The surrounding press pack has spent the last five weeks attending the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson , feeding audiences hungry for details about the now-infamous mushroom cook killer. Viewing rooms for members of the press have been set up as public interest in the case outstrips capacity at Latrobe Valley Law Courts. But Lester has a front row seat to proceedings. "This particular case has just captured the nation," she says. It's like a full-on folkloric story. On the afternoon of 2 June, Patterson is about to take the stand, and Lester has her iPad and digital pencil at the ready to immortalise the moment. "The adrenaline is so high when the suspect walks out onto the stand. You suddenly get mounted with so much pressure." Her drawing of Patterson will soon become synonymous with the Mushroom Trial, thrusting Lester into the spotlight, too. Erin Patterson was convicted of murdering her estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. She was also found guilty of attempting to kill Heather's husband, Ian. Source: AFP / Martin Keep Becoming a courtroom artist "I have a relationship with a newspaper that just invited me to do it on a whim," she says. Other publications took a liking to Lester's art and syndicated the drawings. "Then I started getting calls from all the different networks, and now I seem to be one of the first people [that] people call." The 39-year-old multidisciplinary artist has since drawn other high-profile figures, including gangland boss Tony Mokbel and alleged Easey Street murderer Perry Kouroumblis . Notorious gangland figure Tony Mokbel is among the other high-profile figures Lester has produced courtroom sketches of. Source: AAP / Anita Lester Cameras are banned from most Australian courtrooms to protect those on trial, along with witnesses and the jury. Media outlets commission artists to fill the visual void, continuing the centuries-old tradition of courtroom art. Lester had just two minutes to draw Patterson the first time she saw her in court, at Patterson's 2023 filing hearing, but there was more time when she took the stand in June. Capturing 'curmudgeoned' Patterson Recalling the moment Patterson stepped up, Lester says she just stared for a minute, taking a mental snapshot before putting pen to paper. "I just like, do the roughest, ugliest sketch you've ever seen, just to put things down," she says. Unlike those around her who are hungry for information, Lester tries to block out details that can be "quite interesting", "full-on", and "a little bit traumatising". It's like kind of a meditation. You have to try really hard not to listen to what is actually going on in the courtroom. After 10 minutes of drawing, the courtroom closes. Lester explains: "I run outside, I find the closest seat, I put on headphones and I just draw and finish the drawing, retaining the information that I've collected in those minutes." Two hours after getting the call to come into court, her drawing is on online news sites. When Lester first saw Patterson in court in 2023, she only had two minutes to draw her. Source: AAP / Anita Lester Lester is one of the first artists allowed to draw digitally in an Australian courtroom. Although she concedes digital art lacks some of the nuances of pastel and charcoal, she says they are "so impractical" to use. Instead, she customises digital brushes with a trail of "digital dust" to mimic physical art supplies. "The first time I was in court, there was someone who had this amazing little portable station, but I was looking at him half the time thinking, 'what a nightmare'." Instead of copying exactly what she sees, Lester focuses on getting the emotions of the subject. "If I'm being critical about my earlier drawings, I was fixating a lot on trying to get accurate representations of the person. "Perhaps why this particular drawing that I've done of Erin has been so visceral for people is because I captured her misery." While there are no hard and fast rules for courtroom art, Lester says she sticks to tradition, allowing some of her style to come through without being overly impressionistic and always prioritising getting a likeness of the subject. "I think part of the thing that people really like about courtroom art is there is a predictability to what you're looking at." She says court artists need to put their "journalist hat" on. "You are giving the people what they want. You're giving them this experience that you're having, but the experience of the story that is being told as well," she says. Distress was at the heart of Lester's courtroom experience with Patterson. "I was sitting there and she looked so curmudgeoned the whole time." Anita Lester focuses on capturing the emotions of the subjects of her courtroom sketches, rather than copying exactly what she sees. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop So Lester chose to exaggerate the emotions she saw on the stand. "You don't cheat the details," she says. I think you have to be as honest as you can. Lester's earlier court portraits have depicted subjects along with details of the surrounding courtroom, which she feels detracted from the emotion of the subject. So she decided to take a different approach to Patterson in June. "I just wanted to focus on her. She was so distressed this day in court, I actually felt a bit bad for her, if I'm being totally honest," Lester says. "I wanted to take away any distractions." Balancing storytelling and sensitivity Lester is often exposed to details hidden from the public, but the intimacy of the courtroom exposes something else, too. "I think what people don't realise when people are on trial [is that] they're terrified. They're being put under a microscope," she says. Even when people are the "guiltiest in the world", Lester says something sensitive is revealed in the courtroom setting. "When the lines are a bit blurred, you are privy to seeing something more vulnerable and almost childlike." Anita Lester is a multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop Lester says the weirdest part of the job is being noticed by the accused, often being stared at the whole time. But the whole experience of the Mushroom Trial has been surreal, with people contacting her daily about the case, including sending fan art. "That was just a tiny little snippet of my life, but now I'm intrinsically tied to this conversation," she says. "It's wild, it's two hours of my life [that] has become the thing that I am now associated with, which is so weird."
ABC News
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Media mania at Patterson murder trial
Media mania descended on Morwell this week for the murder trial and verdict of Erin Patterson, are the victims being forgotten? SBS is celebrating fifty years of broadcasting this year, but is it still meeting its mandate? Managing Director of the Special Broadcasting Service James Taylor is adamant that it is. Thirteen years on from the prank call that shocked the world, radio host Michael Christian is taking his former employer to court. Over a decade after the call and the death of a UK nurse that followed it, where does the responsibility for damage caused by media lie? Guest: James Taylor, Managing Director of SBS
