Erin Patterson hires lawyer Philip Dunn KC to help fight murder charges

Accused mushroom killer Erin Patterson has hired one of Australia’s most respected criminal lawyers to help fight her murder charges.

Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has hired defence lawyer Philip Dunn KC.

Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has hired one of Australia’s most respected criminal defence lawyers.

Philip Dunn KC will represent the 49-year-old mother when she returns to court on May 3 after she was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in November last year.

Her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, died from suspected mushroom poisoning after eating a beef wellington dish cooked by Ms Patterson at her Leongatha home on July 29.

Mr Dunn has worked – and continues to work – on some of the biggest criminal cases in Victoria’s history.

Across five decades, he has represented a long list of Melbourne identities, including organised crime figures Carl Williams and Mick Hawi to sporting icons Gary Ablett Sr and Dani Laidley.

Mr Dunn has worked – and continues to work – on some of the biggest criminal cases in Victoria’s history.

Mr Dunn, who signed the Bar roll in 1969, has also appeared in many high-profile criminal cases, some of which have been dramatised in telemovies, including the notorious “Society Murders” of Margaret Wales-King and Paul King at the hands of Margaret’s son Matthew Wales.

In a 2016 interview, Mr Dunn said he was “incredibly optimistic” about people despite being involved in hundreds of murder trials.

“To my mind, there’s two or three things that stick out: one is the part that chance or coincidence plays in a person’s life, and it certainly has in mine,” he said.

“But everything in crime, chance or coincidence plays a big role.

“Then there’s the fact that most people lean to the good; they love their mums and dads, they love their kids.

“They mightn’t live in Portsea or Toorak – they might go caravanning at Eildon – but they love their families and they want to do the right thing by them and I think that gets reflected a bit in the jury system.

“Ultimately, most people are right and decent.”

Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder. Picture: Brooke Grebert-Craig

In recent times, Mr Dunn represented Cairnlea man Sekonaia Vave, who walked free last year from the Supreme Court after a jury acquitted him of murder.

Vave was accused of shooting Ikenasio Tuivasa dead outside the All Star Lounge in Melbourne’s west, with the prosecution claiming Vave fired up to five shots at the pool hall from the passenger seat of a ute.

But Mr Dunn said the jury could not rely on the version of events led by a second man, Reza Amir, who was alleged to be the intended target of the shooting.

He was also engaged last year by an alleged member of the Long River syndicate, Ye Qu, who stands accused of secretly running the Changjiang Currency Exchange alongside six others to wash more than $220m in dirty money.

In 2021, Mr Dunn represented notorious Porsche driver Richard Pusey when he was freed on bail after he allegedly terrorised his neighbours by throwing cat litter and faeces around their homes.

Mr Dunn signed the Bar roll in 1969. Picture: John Gass

In his early years, he was hired by gangster Norman Lee, who was charged over one of the most famous heists in Australian history – the Great Bookie Robbery.

Lee was allegedly one of the six bandits who stormed the Victoria Club on Queen St in April 1976 and stole millions of dollars in cash from bookmakers.

He was the only gang member to face trial over the robbery, but was acquitted.

In 1994, Mr Dunn and fellow barrister Robert Richter QC represented detectives Cliff Lockwood and Dermot Avon who were charged with the murder of crime figure Gary Abdallah five years earlier.

Lockwood, who died last month, was the first Victoria Police officer to be charged with murder in the line of duty.

But Lockwood and Avon were acquitted after a 20-day trial, with the prosecution failing to convince the jury the killing could not be justified.

Mr Dunn will work closely with lawyer Bill Doogue, whose firm is representing Erin Patterson. Picture: Josie Hayden

Mr Dunn has also appeared in many royal commissions, inquests and sports law cases.

He will work closely with Melbourne lawyer Bill Doogue whose firm, Doogue and George, is representing Ms Patterson.

Ms Patterson, who has not entered a plea, may remain before the courts for years to come, with a potential trial expected no earlier than 2025.

Murder charges are typically first tested in the Magistrates’ Court at a committal hearing, before advancing to the Supreme Court to be tried.

If Ms Patterson is found guilty, she faces life imprisonment.