Lawyers for AustralianMushroom murderer Erin Patterson has argued that her convictions should be overturned after jurors stayed in the same hotel as members of the prosecution team, a key police witness and journalists during their deliberations.
Patterson, 51, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of killing three family members and attempting to kill another by serving them Beef Wellington containing deadly mushrooms at her Victoria home in 2023.
His legal team told the Court of Appeal in Melbourne the mix-up at the hotel was a serious failure that undermined the integrity of the trial and required the convictions to be overturned.
Patterson’s lawyer, Richard Edney, described the situation as “catastrophic” and said a new trial was necessary so that justice could be done and seen to have been done.
However, Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions Brendan Kissane said the hotel arrangement was regrettable but appeared to have happened accidentally.
He maintained that there was no evidence of communication between the jurors and anyone associated with the prosecution.
“The issue is whether there was communication between this juror and anyone else,” he told the court.
Kissane said the available evidence suggested there had been no such communication and therefore the incident did not constitute a fundamental irregularity capable of overturning the verdict.
Patterson was convicted of killing her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66. Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, survived the lunch.
READ ALSO: Trump declares the Strait of Hormuz as a new US territory
Her ex-husband, Simon Patterson, had also been invited to the meal, but canceled at the last minute, partly because he believed his wife had previously tried to poison him.
Patterson has denied deliberately poisoning his family members.
Lawyers question the evidence
The appeal hearing is also examining several other arguments raised by Patterson’s attorneys, including claims that some evidence presented to the jury was speculative and that important evidence supporting his defense was wrongly excluded.
During the original trial, prosecutors argued that Patterson had deliberately sought out death mushrooms after sightings of poisonous mushrooms near his hometown were reported on the citizen science website iNaturalist.
His phone was found to be connected to cell towers covering both areas.
Patterson’s attorney, Veronika Drago, argued that the evidence did not establish that Patterson had actually seen the iNaturalist posts or deliberately traveled to find the mushrooms.
He accused prosecutors of “turning nothing into something,” arguing that phone evidence only possibly showed where Patterson had been.
Prosecutors rejected the argument and said cellphone evidence could help establish whether Patterson had the opportunity to obtain the mushrooms as alleged.
Patterson’s legal team also questioned the admission of Facebook messages she had sent months before the fatal lunch, in which she criticized her ex-husband and parents.
His lawyers argued that the messages were irrelevant and that the prosecution’s cross-examination and closing arguments contained multiple problems.
The prosecution, however, maintained that the evidence presented at trial overwhelmingly supported the guilty verdicts.
In court papers, prosecutors argued that the circumstances surrounding the lunch, including the fact that Patterson was served food on a different plate and suffered a different medical outcome than the other guests, strongly pointed toward deliberate poisoning.
The appeal also involves a separate challenge by prosecutors to Patterson’s sentence.
He is currently eligible to apply for parole after serving 33 years in prison. Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions has argued that the probation period is “manifestly inadequate” and that it was not appropriate for the original judge to set a fixed period before she could apply for release.
Patterson watched the proceedings via video link from prison rather than appearing in person.
The three appeal judges are expected to reserve their decision. A ruling may not be issued for several weeks.
Until then, Patterson’s convictions and life sentence remain in effect.
(bbc news)
WATCH THE BEST VIDEOS FROM Newslodge TV