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Dressed in a loose fitting, beige jumper, Erin Patterson appeared in court on Thursday in civilian clothing for the last time for the foreseeable future.
Instead, the 49-year old will be forced to wear prison greens as she’s taken off to await trial within the confines of Victoria’s notorious Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
On Thursday, homicide squad detectives arrested Patterson at her Leongatha home and charged her with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder.
Patterson now faces months behind bars on remand, in a cold concrete cell most likely in isolation away from the general prison population.
Mushroom cook Erin Patterson as she appeared in court on Friday – peering from behind tortoiseshell glasses, hours after learning she had been charged with three counts of murder, and five of attempted murder. Court sketch by Anita Lester
On Friday, Patterson sat quietly within the LaTrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court as her immediate fate was discussed.
The stay-at-home mum could do little but smile and accept news she would not return to court until May next year.
Patterson was low-key as she peered through her tortoise shell-coloured glasses at the proceedings.
Behind the glass sat more than a dozen journalists, many of whom had knocked on her front door at some stage over the past few months.
Patterson was under no illusion she had a jail stint ahead of her.
Before the hearing even began, her barrister Bill Doogue told her he could not apply for bail at this time.
The experienced barrister told Patterson he would work to have her released on bail at a later date.
Erin Patterson’s next court date is set down for May 2024. She could still apply for bail during this time
Erin Patterson after meeting with her lawyers earlier this year
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He faces a difficult battle, with Victoria’s justice system setting an extremely high bar for a person charged with offences of this gravity to be released while awaiting trial.
Patterson reluctantly agreed to her remand in custody – not that she had any say in it.
Magistrate Tim Walsh told Patterson he had no authority to even contemplate releasing her on bail.
That will be a decision for a Supreme Court justice when and if it happens.
Seated between two burly prison guards on Friday, Patterson glared at the media pack as she was raised to her feet and shown the exit.
Bail hearing or no bail hearing, the next time she will be seen again will be from the confines of a prison interview room, dressed in loose-fitting prison greens.
