Erin Patterson's appeal against her murder and attempted murder convictions has failed, with the Victorian court of appeal instead increasing her sentence to life without parole. The decision, delivered on Friday, followed a prosecution appeal against her original 33-year non-parole period, which the court deemed inappropriate given the severity of the offending.
Patterson, who is held at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, now faces the prospect of spending the rest of her life in prison. The court of appeal's move to remove a parole period entirely is rare, according to Brianna Chesser, a criminology and justice expert and associate professor at RMIT.
Rare Decision Reflects Gravity of Offending
Chesser said the decision underscored the seriousness of Patterson's crimes. "It really speaks to the gravity of the offending," she said. "I was expecting the non-parole period to be raised, maybe to 37 years. But to remove it altogether was definitely a shock."
Patterson will have 28 days to lodge an application for special leave to appeal to the high court of Australia. If granted, she would then have a formal appeal hearing, but Chesser noted that 90% of cases do not clear the initial special leave hurdle.
High Court Prospects Considered Slim
The Victorian court's dismissal does not automatically grant Patterson the right to challenge the decision in the high court. "The court only deals with cases that shape national law," Chesser said. "This case would be of particular importance because of the fact that it's high profile. But you'd be looking for some sort of egregious procedural irregularity, some sort of human rights violation – something really serious."
Chesser does not believe Patterson's case falls into any of the categories the high court typically considers, but she still expects the convicted killer to attempt an appeal. "It would make sense that she'd run it to the very end and exhaust all possible avenues," she said.
Background and Sentencing
Patterson was convicted of deliberately serving deadly beef wellingtons to her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, in July 2023. The three guests died after the meal at Patterson's home in Leongatha, regional Victoria, while Heather's husband, Ian, fell seriously ill but survived.
She had fought to quash her convictions, arguing she suffered a substantial miscarriage of justice and should have a retrial. The court of appeal judges said on Friday: "This offending was extraordinarily cold and calculated and stands to be denounced in the strongest terms."
Patterson is only the second woman in Australia to be sentenced to life behind bars without parole. The first was NSW woman Katherine Knight, jailed in 2001 after stabbing her de facto husband to death, skinning him, and attempting to serve his cooked flesh to his children.
