Erin Patterson sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years
Adeshola Ore
Erin Patterson has been sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison.
The prosecution and defence both agreed Patterson should receive a life sentence for her crimes. But the defence argued Justice Christopher Beale should impose a minimum term when she could apply to be released.
Updated at 20.19 EDT
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Adeshola Ore
Sentences for each victim
Patterson, 50, has been spared life in prison without parole.
Beale told the court Patterson had already served 676 days in pre-sentence detention.
Beale delivered the following sentences:
Attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson – 25 years in prison
Attempted murder of Heather Wilkinson – life in prison
Murder of Don Patterson – life in prison
Murder of Gail Patterson – life in prison
Fixing a non-parole period means Patterson will need to serve at least 33 years before she can apply to be released into the community.
ShareErin Patterson sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 yearsAdeshola Ore
Erin Patterson has been sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison.
The prosecution and defence both agreed Patterson should receive a life sentence for her crimes. But the defence argued Justice Christopher Beale should impose a minimum term when she could apply to be released.
Updated at 20.19 EDT
Adeshola Ore
Patterson in separation for more than 15 months
Beale says UN guidelines stipulate a prisoner should not be in separation for more than 15 days.
“But you have now been in separation, continuously, for more than 15 months,” he says.
He says given the intense media interest in the case, Patterson is likely to “remain a notorious prisoner for many years to come” and remain at “serious risk” from other prisoners.
Updated at 20.14 EDT
Patterson’s offending the ‘worst category’ of murder and attempted murderAdeshola Ore
Beale says he has no hesitation in finding Patterson’s offending falls into the “worst category” of murder and attempted murder.
He says Patterson’s legal team provided no character witnesses or psychiatric report during the pre-sentencing plea hearing. Beale says this means he has limited information to draw on.
He says Patterson has been in custody since November 2023.
Jenny Hosking, the assistant commissioner for the sentence management division at Corrections Victoria, provided information about Patterson’s custody arrangements at the plea hearing.
Hosking said Patterson was not permitted to mix with other women in the Gordon unit – a protected area. Patterson has spent about 22 hours a day alone in her cell since she was placed in the unit.
Updated at 20.13 EDT
Nino Bucci
Wilkinson and Patterson family members attend hearing
Ian Wilkinson is listening intently to the sentence in court, sitting next to his son-in-law, Bradley Dubois.
He is one of a large number of family members to attend the hearing.
Simon Patterson, Erin’s estranged husband, is not in court.
Updated at 20.10 EDT
Patterson’s failure to exhibit any remorse ‘pours salt into victims’ wounds’Adeshola Ore
Justice Christopher Beale says four generations have been traumatised by Erin Patterson’s crimes.
He touches on the victim impact statements heard at a pre-sentencing hearing last month.
He says there is “great anger” at the callousness of Patterson’s actions
“Your failure to exhibit any remorse pours salt into all the victims’ wounds,” he says.
Beale notes Ian Wilkinson’s offer of forgiveness to Patterson.
“You would do well to embrace it in the manner he suggests,” he says.
Updated at 20.07 EDT
Judge says Patterson ‘inflicted untold suffering’Adeshola Ore
Beale says it is “implausible” that Patterson would have sourced death cap mushrooms and not ascertained their impact on her victims.
He says Patterson faked illness and disposed of the four grey plates that she served her guests’ beef wellingtons on.
Patterson had the “gall” to tell police she had been “very helpful” to the Victorian department of health during its investigation into the poisoning.
Beale says Patterson’s crimes have inflicted great harm on her victims.
“You inflicted untold suffering on your own children who you robbed of their beloved grandparents,” he says.
Updated at 20.06 EDT
Adeshola Ore
Beale says Patterson’s premeditation an aggravating factor
Justice Christopher Beale says Ian Wilkinson has not fully recovered from the death cap mushroom poisoning.
“He has reduced kidney function, ongoing respiratory issues and reduced energy,” he says.
Beale turns to aggravating factors of Erin Patterson’s offences. He says this includes premeditation and Wilkinson’s ongoing health issues from the poisoning.
He says when Patterson invited her guests to lunch she did so “with the intention of killing them all”.
Patterson showed “no pity” for her victims when she learned from her estranged husband, Simon, they were hospitalised.
Updated at 19.57 EDT
Adeshola Ore
Judge says Patterson’s ‘vague story’ about Asian grocer a lie
Erin Patterson’s lunch guests fell seriously ill on the evening after the lunch, the court hears.
Justice Beale says when Patterson attended Leongtha hospital she showed “reluctance” to undergo medical testing and have her children tested. He says Patterson “falsely” claimed she served her children leftovers of the beef wellingtons with the mushrooms scraped off.
Beale says at the trial Patterson maintained her story that she bought the mushrooms used in the beef wellingtons from an Asian grocer. Patterson told her trial there was a possibility that foraged mushrooms may have been in the plastic container which also contained the store-bought dried mushrooms she said she used in the beef wellington meal.
“The jury rejected this elaborate explanation,” Beale says.
I am satisfied that your vague story about the Asian grocery was a lie.
Updated at 19.53 EDT
Adeshola Ore
Judge recaps trial evidence
Beale is recounting evidence heard in Patterson’s triple murder trial.
He says weeks before the lunch, Patterson invited her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson and Heather and Ian Wilkinson to the lunch.
Beale says the trial heard that Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, initially accepted the invitation to the 29 July 2023 fatal beef wellington lunch. But he declined on the evening of the lunch, saying he felt uncomfortable about attending.
On 29 July, Patterson served her four lunch guests individual beef wellingtons that were deliberately poisoned with beef wellingtons, Beale says.
Beale says he accepts the testimony of Ian Wilkinson that Patterson served her beef wellington portion of a different coloured plate to her guests.
He says he also accepts Wilkinson’s evidence that after the meal Patterson told her guests she had cancer.
ShareJudge says only Patterson knows why she committed crimesAdeshola Ore
Justice Christopher Beale says he agrees Erin Patterson should receive the maximum penalty for her crimes.
He says the “main dispute” is whether he should grant Patterson a minimum sentence or non-parole period.
Beale says the jury in the 11-week trial was satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, that Patterson committed triple murder and attempted murder.
“Only you know why you committed them,” he says.
Beale says he will not speculate about Patterson’s motive.
Updated at 19.40 EDT
Adeshola Ore
Sentencing hearing under way
Erin Patterson’s sentencing hearing has begun in the Victorian supreme court.
Justice Christopher Beale will hand down the triple murderer’s sentence.
In July, a jury convicted Patterson of deliberately feeding her estranged husband’s relatives beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms.
The jury found Patterson guilty of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson. She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson.
Patterson claimed the deaths were a tragic accident.
Updated at 19.35 EDT
Adeshola Ore
Erin Patterson has entered court room four in the Victorian supreme court, ahead of her sentencing.
Patterson is dressed in a paisley shirt and brown jacket.
Updated at 19.29 EDT
Erin Patterson arrives at court
Erin Patterson has arrived at Victoria’s supreme court for her sentencing hearing:
Erin Patterson is escorted into the courthouse ahead of sentencing. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
Here’s survivor Ian Wilkinson arriving at court a short time ago:
Ian Wilkinson, survivor and husband of the deceased Heather Wilkinson, arrives at the supreme court. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 19.26 EDT
Adeshola Ore
Inside the courtroom
We’re awaiting triple murderer Erin Patterson’s sentencing in the Victorian supreme court.
Inside courtroom four, Ian Wilkinson, the sole surviving lunch guest, is sitting metres away from the bar table.
The media box is filled with journalists. Reporters have also spilled over into the remaining seats in the court room. On the second level, members of the public are peering down into the court.
Earlier, court watchers lined William Street to nab a seat in the public gallery ahead of the 9.30am sentencing.
Updated at 19.27 EDT