Mushroom murderer Erin Patterson could make a final bid for freedom. What are the prospects of a high court appeal?

31 October 2026 at 05:02

After attempt at acquittal or retrial was dismissed, Patterson has 28 days to lodge an application for special leave to appeal to Australia’s high court

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After losing her bid for a retrial, the mushroom murderer Erin Patterson could take her fight to the highest court in Australia.

But her prospects of success are far from rosy, a legal expert says.

Erin Patterson began the day with hope. Now Australia’s mushroom murderer knows she’s likely to die in jail

The Guardian

By: Nino Bucci Justice and courts reporter

30 October 2026 at 08:12

Patterson watched on, clad in prison-issued blue, as Victoria’s highest court rejected her appeal against her murder convictions

Erin Patterson raised her chin and stared out on the brilliant blue promise of a mid-spring morning.

To the east, Victoria’s grandest court room was filled with people she had brought together, yet she was there only on a screen.

Australia’s mushroom murderer loses bid to overturn convictions – as it happened

World news | The Guardian

By: Nick Visser

30 October 2026 at 03:27

This blog is now closed. Read our full report here:

Erin Patterson loses appeal as harsher sentence imposed

Patterson showed no emotion on the video feed as McLeish outlined why her appeal had failed, and how the director of public prosecutions had succeeded in seeking a longer sentence.

Patterson’s actions mean it is ‘inappropriate’ to fix non-parole period, justice says

The applicant’s murderous intent dated back to the invitations to lunch, it persisted through the lunch that the poison was administered …

We have concluded that the case involved such calculated criminality that it is inappropriate to fix a non-parole period.

Erin Patterson to die in prison after losing appeal against mushroom murder convictions

World news | The Guardian

By: Nino Bucci Justice and courts reporter

30 October 2026 at 03:48

Victorian court of appeal rules Patterson should be jailed for life with no parole over deadly beef wellington lunch that killed three people

Erin Patterson has lost her bid to overturn her convictions and been resentenced to life behind bars with no chance of release, as Victoria’s highest court handed down its decision on two appeals regarding her triple murder case.

The court of appeal ruled on the two appeals on Friday, after justices Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish and Peter Kidd heard arguments from her legal team and prosecutors in August.

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