Death cap mushroom killer Erin Patterson’s bid to keep pre-trial evidence a secret until her appeal has failed after a judge found open justice is “fundamental”.
Patterson, 50, wore a black top and glasses as she faced Melbourne’s Supreme Court on Friday morning by video link from prison for a brief hearing.
Justice Christopher Beale set down two days for Patterson’s plea hearing, which prosecutors said would include “a lot” of victim impact statements.
The hearing will take place on August 25 and 26 at the court in Melbourne and not Morwell, where the near-three-month trial was held, due to maintenance issues.
Prosecutor Jane Warren confirmed the first day of the hearing would be taken up with statements from victims, including family and friends of the three people she murdered: Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Heather Wilkinson, 66.
The sole survivor of the deadly July 2023 lunch, Ian Wilkinson, is also likely to give the court his statement.
After firming up court dates, Justice Beale overturned an application by Patterson’s legal team to keep all pre-trial evidence secret to preserve her appeal rights.
Patterson cannot lodge an appeal until after she is sentenced.
Her defence team had argued pre-trial evidence should not be released to media due to “unprecedented” reporting, with several podcasts, documentaries and a mini-series in development.
Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC claimed releasing the evidence could leave an indelible impression on a jury if she successfully appealed and faced a retrial.
However, media argued against the claim, saying it was “speculative” she would face another trial and that jurors would be directed not to engage with the evidence.
Justice Beale found that it was “unlikely” an appeal of Patterson’s conviction would succeed, but that – and the possibility of a retrial – could not be excluded.
He ultimately ruled in favour of the media and did not make a suppression order over the evidence.
“Open justice is a fundamental concern of our criminal justice jurisdiction,” he said.
The ruling means that evidence, including information about the alleged attempted poisonings of her husband, Simon Patterson, can now be reported.
The judge also approved release of Patterson’s police interview.
Patterson was found guilty of three murders and one attempted murder over the July 29, 2023, lunch at her home in Leongatha.
The mother-of-two deliberately served up a death cap mushroom-laced beef Wellington to Don, Gail, Heather and Ian.
She pleaded not guilty and denied all charges, included over the alleged attempted murder of Simon.
Those charges were dropped at the beginning of her trial in April.
Patterson spent eight days in the witness box during her regional Victorian trial, where she admitted a series of lies and said she may have accidentally included foraged mushrooms in the beef Wellington.
This included lies to police about her interest in wild mushrooms, and lies about owning a food dehydrator which she dumped at a local tip.
The trial became a media circus, involving 252 media outlets including 15 international, making it the biggest matter the Supreme Court has managed in recent history.
Patterson will have 28 days to lodge an appeal after she is sentenced.
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