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The woman at the centre of the Leongatha mushroom murders will have her appeal heard in a two-day hearing later this year.
Erin Patterson, 50, was handed a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 33 years in September last year after a jury found her guilty of murdering three in-laws and the attempted murder of a fourth.
The case centred on a beef wellington lunch Patterson served to her husband’s parents Don and Gail Patterson, Gail Patterson’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian Wilkinson on July 28, 2023.
The four guests fell ill with death cap mushroom poisoning, with Ian Wilkinson the only survivor after a lengthy hospital stay.
Patterson maintains she is innocent and her appeal has been set down to run over two days from August 19 in the Court of Appeal.
A second appeal, brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions, which is arguing her sentence is “manifestly inadequate” will be heard at the same time.
In court documents, Patterson has revealed plans to appeal her conviction under seven grounds, including arguing her cross-examination in the witness box was “unfair and oppressive”.
Patterson will also argue parts of the evidence in her case created unfair prejudice and should not have been allowed to be put to the jury.
These incudes evidence of her mobile phone’s interactions with cell towers in the region, sightings of death cap mushrooms that were posted to citizen science website iNaturalist and evidence from a Facebook friend group devoted to true crime.
She has called for her conviction to be quashed and a new trial to be held.
Patterson is not expected to attend court in person.
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