Victorian appeals court rejects Erin Patterson's appeal and raises sentence to life without parole
Photo: The GuardianVictoria's Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed Erin Patterson's appeal against her convictions for three murders and one attempted murder, and increased her sentence to life in prison with no chance of parole. Justices Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish and Peter Kidd heard the case in August. The court granted leave to appeal on the first two grounds but rejected the appeal, dismissed five other grounds, and upheld the director of public prosecutions' appeal against the sentence. Patterson, 52, watched by video link and showed no emotion. Justice Christopher Beale had sentenced her on September 8, 2025, to life with a 33-year non-parole period. She was convicted of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson after a beef Wellington lunch with death cap mushrooms at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023. Ian Wilkinson survived. Her lawyers have indicated she will go to the High Court, the last avenue left.
The Guardian leads with the outcome that Patterson will die in prison and gives procedural detail: the 15-minute hearing, McLeish's explanation, the grounds granted and dismissed. CNN's headline says she will be jailed for life because the original sentence was too light, and it calls her a murderer. The Daily Mail uses harsher language, calling her a monster and a cold-blooded killer. It adds her appearance on video, the dates and Beale's original sentence, and it is the one of these outlets to report the planned High Court appeal. All three agree on the result and the longer sentence. They differ mainly in tone and in which details they stress. South China Morning Post adds a distinct detail: the judge described the killings as extraordinarily cold and calculated and found no grounds for a retrial, while Patterson maintained that her convictions were a miscarriage of justice.
How the sides differ Left sources stress the court's reasoning and the sentence being too light; right sources use harsher language and add courtroom detail and a planned High Court appeal.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
The Guardian leads with Patterson dying in prison and sets out the court's reasoning and the grounds it accepted and rejected, with Justice McLeish's explanation. CNN centres on the sentence being found too light.
South China Morning Post leads with the judge's description of the killings as extraordinarily cold and calculated and the lack of grounds for a retrial, and notes Patterson's claim of a miscarriage of justice.
The Daily Mail uses strong language such as monster and cold-blooded killer. It describes Patterson's video appearance, gives the dates and original sentence, and reports that her lawyers plan a High Court appeal.