Erin Patterson Appeals Murder Convictions Over Deadly Mushroom Lunch

Patterson is serving a life sentence for the murders of her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, along with Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, the sole survivor of the fatal lunch. She was found guilty at a trial in Morwell last year and has always maintained her innocence, filing a conviction appeal made up of seven grounds. On Wednesday, Patterson appeared via video link from the Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison in courtroom one of the Supreme Court in Melbourne.

Wearing a royal blue jumper, she watched proceedings on a laptop, sitting forward and listening attentively. Her barrister, Richard Edney, described a scenario where jurors deciding the case were sequestered in the same hotel as the case's lead police officer and staff from the Office of Public Prosecutions. He said this went against the notion that justice needed to be done, as well as being seen to be done in perhaps one of the most high-profile criminal trials this state has ever had. The appeal hearing is set to continue, with Patterson's legal team arguing that the trial process was compromised by the proximity of jurors to prosecution officials, a claim that could potentially overturn the convictions if successful.