Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder trial attracted so much interest that onlookers were escorted out of court for taking selfies with the now-convicted triple murderer in the background.
The 50-year-old was today found guilty of murdering in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and also of attempting to murder local pastor Ian Wilkinson in an infamous beef Wellington lunch in July 2023.
The case has attracted an enormous amount of attention around both the country and world, generating headlines as far afield as the United Kingdom and United States.
Now the jury has been discharged, it can be revealed that the local interest in the case reached the extent that some people faced stern talking-tos from the court for attempting to take pictures of Patterson inside the courtroom.
“There were actually people who were getting in trouble at times for taking photos of Erin Patterson in the dock,” 9News court reporter Amber Johnston said.
“So members of the public who managed to snag a seat inside would get their phones out, and they were trying to take selfies with Erin Patterson when they were in the dock.
“And during those moments, that’s when the lead informant, Detective Stephen Eppingstall, would have to drag them out of the courtroom, would scold them, tell them off, threaten that they were going to be held in contempt of court, and he would have to go through their phones and delete those photos of Erin Patterson.
“I can’t think of any other case when we have seen scenes like that.”
Patterson had pleaded not guilty to all four charges, and now faces a sentence of up to life in prison for the triple murder and attempted murder.
She will return to the court for a pre-sentence hearing later this year.
