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Convicted murderer Erin Patterson is escorted out of the Supreme Court of Victoria during her trial. Photo / AFP
A court in Australia has refused to release evidence on “mushroom murderer” Erin Patterson for fear it would lead to “massive publicity”.
After refusing the Patterson’s appeal last month, judges have also now decided evidence from the trial will remain suppressed, in case Patterson is successful
in her last-ditch appeal to the High Court, which could grant her a retrial.
The Victoria Court of Appeal said releasing the evidence could lead to “unfair prejudice” if Patterson did face a retrial, ABC News reported.
“While the evidence is nuanced and complex, it would be likely to attract very significant publicity with the potential to cause a real and substantial risk of prejudice to any future trial,” Justices Stephen McLeish, Lesley Taylor and Peter Kidd wrote in a partially redacted judgment.
The evidence in question was meant to be included during Patterson’s 2025 trial but, upon hearing further legal argument during the trial, Justice Christopher Beale ruled the evidence inadmissible and it was never shown to jurors.
Justice Beale suppressed the evidence after the guilty verdict, pending an appeal.
“It would ‘leave an indelible impression on the minds of potential jurors in the event of a retrial’,” Justice Beale said at the time.
The Court of Appeal has now ruled to keep the evidence suppressed. However, it will lift it if Patterson does not apply for special leave to appeal to the High Court by November 27.
Last year, Patterson was found guilty of murdering her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson after serving them a beef Wellington lunch containing death cap mushrooms at her rural Victoria home in July 2023.
Wilkinson’s husband Ian survived, with Patterson also convicted over his attempted murder.
The 52-year-old has maintained she had accidentally added the mushrooms and did not intent to kill or cause serious injuries to her guests, lodging an appeal against the convictions.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the bid last month, finding the deaths were “carefully planned and deliberate” and imposing life imprisonment without parole.
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