Court gives permission for mushroom cook to appeal jury findings

Convicted mushroom killer Erin Patterson’s bid to appeal her guilty verdicts has been lodged and accepted by the Court of Appeal.

Erin Patterson, 51, hosted a lunch at her home in the Victorian town of Leongatha in July 2023, where she invited in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson for a meal of beef Wellington.

Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson died on August 4, 2023, from multiple organ failure and altered liver function, with a clinical diagnosis of amanita mushroom poisoning. Don Patterson died the following night, August 5, also from multiple organ failure.

Medical staff had determined the illnesses suffered by the three victims were unsurvivable, leading to their deaths from toxic mushroom poisoning. Ian Wilkinson survived after spending several weeks in an induced coma.

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Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson – the son of Don and Gail Patterson – was also invited to the deadly lunch but cancelled the evening before.

In May 2024, Patterson pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one of attempted murder by poisoning them with death cap mushrooms. On July 7, she was found guilty of all four charges.

Patterson’s 28-day window to file an appeal against her conviction was due to end at midnight on October 6, but a new procedural rule allowed that timeframe to be doubled, extending that deadline until 11.59pm on Monday, November 3.

Last month, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) filed a separate appeal with the court, seeking a harsher sentence for Patterson and arguing that she should never be released from custody.