JUSTICE Beale has set aside a whole day of a two-day plea hearing later this month just to hear “a lot” of victim impact statements arising out of the murders of three Korumburra family members, and the attempted murder of a fourth.
On Friday this week, August 8, the parties to the R v Erin Patterson ‘mushroom murder’ case returned to the Supreme Court in Melbourne for a directions’ hearing and the determination of an application for the release of further details about the case, some of which the jury did not hear during the trial.
Among those details is a video recording of Erin Patterson’s police interview at the Wonthaggi Police Station, on Saturday, August 5, 2023, a week after the family lunch at her Leongatha home on Saturday, July 29.
By then, two of the lunch guests, Korumburra sisters Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, had both died in hospital in Melbourne with a clinical diagnosis of amanita mushroom poisoning, the result of eating death cap mushrooms secreted in the meal of beef Wellington by Erin Patterson.
Their husbands, Don Patterson and Ian Wilkinson, were also gravely ill in hospital, with Don Patterson dying later on Saturday night, and Mr Wilkinson only surviving after 54 days in hospital, 21 in intensive care.
As a result of poisoning her husband Simon’s in-laws, Erin Patterson was convicted of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder in a blaze of worldwide publicity at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts on Monday, July 7, 2025.
Ms Patterson attended today’s hearing by video link at which Justice Beale set the date for the plea hearing, ahead of sentencing, and also made a determination to release most of the pre-trial information in the case, and also the video of the record of interview with police.
Erin Patterson opposed the release of the pretrial information however, the family members of the deceased offered no objection, beyond redacting the names of the Patterson children.
Justice Beale set aside two days for the plea hearing, in consultation with Crown Prosecutor Jane Warren who told the court she would need a considerable amount of time just to present the victim impact statements.
“How many?” asked Justice Beale.
“All I can say is there will be a lot,” said Ms Warren.
“So, much of the first day will be taken up?” asked Justice Beale.
“Yes. I’ll be in a better position next week to say,” said Ms Warren.
Justice Beale has set Monday and Tuesday, August 25 and 26 for the plea hearing which he said could not be held in Morwell owing to some renovation works at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts which would not be completed by then.
Neither the date nor the time and place for the sentencing has been set.