THE “abrasive legal system” and “occasionally callous mainstream media” copped a blast from Simon Patterson in his victim impact statement, read into the court record by his cousin Naomi Gleadow, at the plea hearing on Monday, August 25.
Mr Patterson said he found his interactions with both “remarkably dehumanising” and while he described the pretrial machinations of the legal process, before he gave evidence, as “distressing”, he said the behaviour of some legacy media personnel was “deplorable”.
“My kids and I have suffered many days filled with strangers menacing our home, brandishing notebooks, phones, cameras, and microphones. We have faced people waiting in ambush at our front door, inches away with TV camera and microphone at the ready after ringing our doorbell.”
He claimed reporters have banged on his windows and tried to “peek into my children's bedrooms, always skulking away before the police arrive”.
There have also been ambushes while parking the car and crews filming the family at cafés or in the street forcing him to install security cameras at home with the result that family members were often looking at the screen to see if anyone was approaching the house.
However, while the intrusion of the media has forced them to change their routines when outside, he praised members of the local community for their support: “The sensitivity of the local community in relating with our family, including by minimising their communication about us to reporters, has also been amazing. I am so grateful for this.”
A total of 28 victim impacts statements were tendered to the Supreme Court last week and will be taken into account by Justice Beale in the sentencing of triple murderer, Erin Patterson, next Monday, September 8.
On Monday, July 7 at Morwell, Erin Patterson was found guilty of the murder of her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and also of Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson as a result of feeding them a meal of beef Wellington, laced with death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha on Saturday, July 29, 2023.
Erin Patterson was also convicted of the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who was the only lunch guest to survive the meal.
On the opening day of the trial, on Tuesday, April 29, it became public for the first time that the Director of Public Prosecutions had dropped three charges of attempted murder against Erin Patterson relating to allegations that she had previously tried to poison her husband, Simon Patterson.
After the verdict was delivered by the jury, documents were released explaining why the DPP had dropped the charges.
In a judgement handed down by the Supreme Court’s Court of Appeal on April 17, 2025, three judges ruled that Justice Beale was correct in his decision to “sever the indictment”, that is to remove the charges relating to Simon from the trial and leave to appeal his decision in that regard was refused. Only the three murder charges and the attempted murder charges relating to the four lunch guests; Don and Gail Patterson and Ian and Heather Wilkinson, went ahead.
What Simon said about the media
Here is an excerpt about the impact of the media from Simon Patterson’s victim impact statement:
“My kids and I have suffered many days filled with strangers menacing our home, brandishing notebooks, phones, cameras, and microphones. We have faced people waiting in ambush at our front door, inches away with TV camera and microphone at the ready after ringing our doorbell.
“Strangers holding notebooks have banged aggressively on our windows in the early morning trying to peek into my children's bedrooms, always skulking away before the police arrive.
“I have been ambushed by strangers with cameras and microphones waiting by my car when I am parked in public. The children and I have been filmed in cafés and in the street by opportunistic individuals.
“I doubt I'll get used to being treated in such dehumanising ways by these creepy strangers who regard humans as merely content to further their media careers.
“The consequence of this is that now our home has a security camera TV switched on much of the time, which we often glance at. Noises from outside our home also precipitate a check of the security camera feed, and sometimes a long reassuring hug.
“The kids and I have established a routine for when we stay away at short notice to avoid a media circus suddenly gathered outside our home.
“When we are at a café, if I suddenly say it's time to go now, the kids know we immediately leave quietly, because I've spotted someone surreptitiously recording us. The need to perpetually watch for strangers who are showing a threatening interest has introduced a new strain on our lives.”