Mushroom cook killer Erin Patterson will face the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Friday morning as dates for her pre-sentence hearings are expected to be set.
The hearing comes a month after a jury found her guilty of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson, after feeding them a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms on July 29, 2023.
Erin Patterson arrives at court in a prison van during her trial in May.Credit: Agence France-Presse
Unlike the trial – which ran in Morwell, the court closest to her crimes – Friday’s hearing will be held in Melbourne. Patterson is expected to face court via videolink from prison.
This marks one of Patterson’s first court appearances since she was found guilty of her murderous crimes, and it is expected that the next significant hearing dates will be set. Those pre-sentence hearings are where family members are invited to read victim impact statements to the court ahead of the judge handing down his sentencing, which typically occurs at a later date.
On Monday, the court for the first time also released critical evidence used to prosecute Patterson.
The two video clips show Patterson disposing of a food dehydrator and an interaction she had with police as they raided her Leongatha home in their hunt for clues about the beef Wellington lunch that killed three people.
From left: Don Patterson, Gail Patterson, Heather Wilkinson and Ian Wilkinson.
On July 7, after six days of deliberations, a jury of seven men and five women returned guilty verdicts over the fatal 2023 lunch at Patterson’s Leongatha home.
During a marathon 10-week trial, the jury heard Patterson invited her in-laws and the Wilkinsons to her home that day to falsely tell them she had cancer and ask for their advice on breaking the news to her two children.
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