Killer cook’s meticulous planning will cost her at sentencing time

Triple killer Erin Patterson’s elaborate and “totally evil” planning behind the poisoning murder of her relatives is likely to significantly impede her bid for a lenient sentence.

Justice Christopher Beale, who presided over the 11-week Supreme Court trial in Morwell, will now be tasked with determining how long the 50-year-old will spend behind bars after a jury on Monday found Patterson guilty of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder over the beef Wellington lunch she served in July 2023.

A graffiti mural Erin Patterson has been altered to add the word ‘guilty’ in a laneway near the Queen Victoria Market.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

Former chief magistrate and Crown prosecutor Nick Papas, KC, said the high levels of planning Patterson went to before the murders would be a major consideration for Beale in determining her sentence.

“That’s going to be what brings this case into the upper echelons [of sentencing] – not just the fact that three people were murdered and one nearly died but just look at the way she went about it,” he said.

Evidence presented during the murder trial suggested Patterson was a fastidious planner. A year before the fatal lunch she researched death cap mushroom sightings, began hiding mushrooms in her kids’ food, and foraged for wild mushrooms.

The first step to determining the sentence is a plea hearing, likely to be held in August. The prosecution and the defence will put forward information they believe Beale should consider for the maximum sentence and the non-parole period – the minimum time Patterson must spend in jail. This can include victim impact statements, Patterson’s personal circumstances and any psychological evidence or health conditions.

This is likely to include Patterson’s age, which will determine if she is likely to die in jail, and the fact she has two children.

Papas said both legal teams would also be looking for other cases to compare Patterson’s to as a guide for Beale’s sentencing. But he said this could be challenging given the unique nature of Patterson’s crimes.

“It’s unprecedented. What we’re talking about is a middle-aged lady … planning and scheming carefully to poison four people who are her relatives,” he said. “It’s highly, highly planned and totally evil.”

There were 82 murder cases in Victoria between July 2018 and June 2023, according to the Sentencing Advisory Council. Of those, 9.8 per cent of killers were given life sentences, while 30.5 per cent were sentenced to 25 or more years’ jail. The shortest sentence handed down was nine years, while the longest was 36 years.

Along with Erin Patterson’s sentence, Beale will also issue a non-parole period. The longest non-parole period issued in Victoria between 2018 and 2023 was 35 years, according to the Sentencing Advisory Council data.

After the sentence is handed down, likely to be later this year, Patterson will then have 28 days to appeal either the sentence, the verdict or both.

“Because this is such a big, complex case, [the defence] may need a bit of extra time beyond their 28 days,” Papas said.

There are Victorian cases of murder that have attracted life sentences which Papas expects to be considered.

Robert Farquharson, the father convicted of murdering his three sons, was sentenced in 2010 to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years. Farquharson launched his third appeal last year.

James Gargasoulas murdered six people and recklessly endangered the life of 27 others when he ploughed a stolen car into pedestrians in Bourke Street on January 20, 2017. He was sentenced to life, with a minimum of 46 years.

If Patterson does appeal, three Court of Appeal judges will consider written and oral submissions from the prosecution and the defence. To be successful, Patterson’s lawyers would need to point to evidence of alleged errors or failures in the running of the case which amount to an unjust conviction.

A victory could see the judges order a retrial, resentence her or even choose to permanently stay the charges on the basis Patterson would not be able to receive a fair trial again – which would result in her release.

If she failed, she would be able to lodge another appeal in the High Court, but it would be much harder to overturn the decisions of two lower courts. Her only other avenue after that would be a petition of mercy, which, under Victorian laws passed in 2019, allows an appeal if there is fresh and compelling evidence that shows a substantial miscarriage of justice has occurred.

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