Accused mushroom murderer in prison protection awaiting trial
Erin Patterson is being housed alongside some of Victoria’s worst female offenders as she awaits trial including with pedophile rapist Malka Leifer.
Erin Patterson, the woman accused of killing her former in-laws and one other elderly woman with a deadly mushroom lunch, has reportedly been forced into a protected unit in prison due to concerns for her safety.
Pedophile rapist and former school principal Malka Leifer is one of the notorious criminals Ms Patterson is now sharing a unit with in the maximum security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne’s outer west, The Herald Sun reports on Friday.
Ms Patterson is on remand awaiting trial on three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder, three against ex-husband Simon Patterson.
“She allegedly killed three elderly people,” a prison source told The Herald Sun. “There’s a rule, you don’t touch the elderly and you don’t touch babies so because of that, you go into protection.”
Don and Gail Wilkinson and Gail’s sister Heather died after allegedly eating a poisonous beef wellington lunch at Ms Patterson’s home on July 29 last year.
Gail’s husband, Korumburra Baptist Church pastor Ian Wilkinson, miraculously survived after months in hospital and returned to preaching to his congregation earlier this year.
Simon Patterson pulled out of the deadly lunch at the last minute.
Ms Patterson is housed in a self-contained unit at the women’s prison which contains a bed, shower, toilet, sink, desk and closet. She is not permitted to leave her unit but is free to walk around inside it, The Herald Sun reports.
Most prisoners undertake some form of labour while incarcerated but Ms Patterson is exempt from that requirement because she is on remand and has not been convicted of a crime.
As she awaits trial, she is allowed to receive up to $150 per month from friends and family and may have access to a kitchen to cook her own meals.
Ms Patterson’s case will return to court on May 3.
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