The killer spent her second birthday in custody this week, turning 51 on Tuesday.
Patterson, one of Australia’s most notorious killers, will have a new barrister to lead her appeal, the third she’s used after Colin Mandy, SC, represented her at trial, and Phillip Dunn, KC, when she was charged.
Last month, Patterson was sentenced to life in jail with a non-parole period of 33 years after a jury found her guilty of murdering in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them beef Wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms at her home in July 2024.
The jury also found her guilty of attempting to murder surviving lunch guest Ian Wilkinson, a Baptist pastor.
The killer’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited to lunch but cancelled the evening before.
Her sentence makes her one of Victoria’s longest-serving female inmates. She will have just turned 82 before she is granted the opportunity for freedom in 2056.
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Justice Christopher Beale said at Patterson’s sentencing hearing her crimes were senseless.
“I have no hesitation in finding your offending falls into the worst category. The gravity of your offending warrants the maximum penalties for your crimes,” he said.
“[Ian Wilkinson] offered you forgiveness for what you did to him. That offer of forgiveness presents you with an opportunity. You would do well to embrace it in the manner he suggests.”
Beale resisted calls from the prosecution to jail Patterson for life with no prospect of parole, saying her case was so infamous she was likely to remain in restricted conditions in custody.
A spokeswoman for the Office of Public Prosecution said they were yet to decide if they would appeal Patterson’s sentence.
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