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Australian mushroom murderer loses appeal to overturn convictions
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Erin Patterson, convicted in 2023 for poisoning three relatives with death cap mushrooms, failed to overturn her murder convictions in Victoria's Court of Appeal, which also ruled she should never be released from prison.
- The court deemed her crimes "extraordinarily cold and calculated," rejecting the original non-parole period of 33 years and declaring it inappropriate to fix any non-parole period due to the severity of her actions.
- Patterson was found guilty of murdering her in-laws and their relative by serving them toxic beef Wellington, and attempting to kill a local pastor who survived but suffers ongoing health issues.
- Her legal team challenged the trial on seven grounds, including alleged jury bias due to accommodation arrangements and evidence admissibility, but all appeals were dismissed by the judges.
- Patterson has 28 days to decide whether to seek a further appeal to the High Court of Australia.
