September 8, 2025 • 16 mins
For the first time ever, the Supreme Court of Victoria allowed a television camera to broadcast a sentencing – the hearing for convicted triple murderer Erin Patterson.
Justice Christopher Beale imposed life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years, for murdering three in-laws – and attempting to murder a fourth – by lacing their beef Wellingtons with poisonous death cap mushrooms in 2023.
In handing down the sentence, Justice Beale said Patterson’s crimes fell into “the worst category of offending” and “inflicted untold suffering” on her victims.
Today, investigative journalist and author Lucie Morris-Marr on the impact of Erin Patterson’s crimes, and whether her victims will finally have closure.
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.
Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram
Guest: Investigative journalist and author, Lucie Morris-Marr
Photo: AAP Image/Anita Lester
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Please stand.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
For the first time ever, the Supreme Court of Victoria
allowed a television camera to broadcast sentencing the hearing for
convicted triple murderer Aaron Patterson for.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
The attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. I sentence you to
twenty five years imprisonment for the murder of Heather Wilkinson.
I sentence you to life imprisonment for the murder of
Gail Paterson. I sentence you to life imprisonment for the
murder of Don Passon. I sentence you to life imprisonment.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
When Justice Christopher Bill sentenced her to life in prison,
it was the conclusion of a story that has captivated
Australia for more than two years.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Oh, it was a big moment. It was a really
big conclusion to this has been building up. It's amazing
to think it's stretched over two years now.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Investigative journalist Lucy Morris Marr has been following the case
ever since the fatal mushroom lunch in Leam Gaffa in
July twenty twenty three, where Aaron Patterson served to beef
Wellington laced with poisonous deathcat mushrooms.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
To her, I think the whole of Australia. They are
watching that live. Of course, it's also a historical moment
today because the Supreme Court of Victoria has never broadcast
a sentencing live or anything live like that. But as
much as the media have gone through this and covered it,
it's nothing like the families, you know, the relief they
must feel today having gone through all that themselves, and
(01:22):
I know for them this has been absolutely exhausting.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
I'm Ruby Jones and you're listening to seven.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
AM today Walkley Award winning journalist and author Lucy Morris
Mark on the impact of Aaron Patterson's crimes and whether
the victims and families will finally have some closure.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
It's Tuesday, September nine. Lucy Erin Patterson has just been
sentenced to life in prison with a minimum prison period
of thirty three years. There were many aggravating factors that
the judge spoke about when he handed down that decision.
One was her lack of remorse. He mentioned that several times.
(02:09):
So tell me what you were thinking as you heard
him lay that out.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Of course, you know, with a judge, you know, naturally
he doesn't ever say his opinion. Really, he did seem
very taken by the victim impact statements a couple of
weeks ago, where seven members of the hugely extended families
stood up and read their victim impact statements, and he
did say, you know, this is a tsunami of pain
and grief, and that got the sense of how he
(02:34):
was feeling. But of course, then to hear him lay
out in detail Erin's planning, her lies, and the way
he did it with such clarity, it just really reiterated
that the jury made the right decision.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
The prosecution submits, and your council concedes that your offending
falls into the worst category of offending for these offenses,
and that you should receive the maximum penalties for your crimes.
I agree for reasons that I will come to in
due course.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
And he was very scathing at times.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Naturally, not only did you cut short three lives and
cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson's health, thereby devastating the
extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on
your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
You know, he said this crime was premeditated and planned.
He made the absolutely clear. He clearly outlined each aspect
for example, looking at death caps on I Naturalist's website.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
That is a website on which people can post and
view sightings of death cap mushrooms, amongst other things. On
the twenty eighth of May twenty two, you access the
I Naturalist website and navigated to its worldwide map in
relation to sightings of deathcap mushrooms.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
She bought a dehy tractor. She took pictures of what
experts later said look like death caps in that de
hopereta and sent them on her friend group with the
true crime friends that she'd made on Facebook.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You photographed forage mushrooms on the trays of your dehydrator.
The images were found by investigators on a Samsung tablet
later seized from your home.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
She invited Simon Patterson to the infamous lunch, saying she
had an important medical news, which of course we now
know is lies.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Simon and you exchanged messages. Simon's read quote, Sorry, I
feel too uncomfortable about coming to the lunch with you, Mum, Dad,
Heather and Ian tomorrow, but I am happy to talk
about your health and implications of that at another time.
If you'd like to discuss on the phone, just let
me know. You replied five minutes later, quote, that's really disappointing.
(04:50):
I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
And the judge said he accepted Ian Wilkinson's evidence that
she served guests on gray live plates and hers was
on a small plate, which was a huge part of
the trial. You know, it just went on and on
and it really reminded those watching live exactly how elaborate
this crime was and intentional. H Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
And he also said that it was clear that she
had wanted her guests to suffer. She would have known
the effect of poisoning with death cat mushrooms, and he
described her what she'd done as falling into the worst
category of murder and attempted murder. So what did you
make of his characterization of how serious her crimes are?
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Absolutely correct. I mean during the trial, I was very
moved and it was very difficult to listen to the
suffering involved in terms of those poor people, the initial
gastro symptoms, which became more and more extreme as the
hours went by, and then their time in hospital was
as medics desperately tried to save them. Their organs were
(05:57):
basically filling with fluid and it was that actually a
reminder that violent crimes don't always have to evolve a
knife or a gun. This was a very nasty, violent crime,
and as he said, she intended to kill them all,
and she showed no pity for her victims. Another quote
he said was you followed through on your lethal plan,
(06:18):
which was actually a quote as he noted from Heather
and Ian's daughter Ruth de Bois, as.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
The Wilkinson's daughter Ruth Dubois remarking her victim impact statement,
you quote followed through on your lethal plan. Your lunch
giars each suffered severe gestro intestinal illness on the Sunday
and Monday prior to being sedated and mechanically ventilated. Their
suffering was protracted.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Because maybe if she said yes, I forage, and they
would have realized there was a chance that they could
have consumed death caps or another seriously poisonous mushroom. They
could have had an antidote or the medication that people
can have to protect from liver damage. So she carried
on the cry in those following days, and he said
their suffering was substantial. It was enormous betrayal of the
(07:08):
trust of your victims. All had been good to you.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that,
they had all been good to you and your children
over many years, as you acknowledged in your testimony.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Very damning, very scathing, and wrote me so.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
And one thing that Justine Spiel pointed out was that
we still don't know why Aaron Patterson did what she DIDs.
Motive was never established, he said, and he was talking
directly to her.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Only you know why you did this.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
So given that, do you think that we're just going
to see endless speculation here about what her motive was.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yes, unless she ever confesses, which it doesn't look likely,
we will never know. I mean, of course, the speculation
there was a fallout. He did mention the family fall
out briefly when she was seeking support from Don and
Gail Patterson regarding her strange husband, Simon's lack of paying
child support for a short time. And there's speculation that
(08:05):
she held onto that grudge even though it was seemed
to be resolved, and that she really held that in
But of course we heard when the pre trial suppression
order was lifted, we heard that, you know, Simon Patterson
alleges that she tried to poison him on several occasions
and made him extremely unwell. But you know, clearly she's
(08:27):
in the right place. Is a very serious crime. This
is a serial killing crime and one that we thankfully
don't see very often in Australia. But she has been
given these life sentences. And yes, it's thirty three years
in prison, non parole period, but actually, if you break
it down, Ian Wilkinson's attempted murder was twenty five years,
(08:48):
the killing of Heather Wilkinson life in prison, Gail Patterson
life in prison, Don Patterson life in prison. I mean,
if you added all that up, it would come to
like one hundred years. But she can only do what
she can do. So it's being done concurrently, and it's
a life sentence with a non parole period of thirty
three years, but she'll be eighty three. Will she live
(09:09):
to see that? We don't know. It's not exactly conducive
healthy conditions where she's being held.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Coming up, why the sole survivor of Erin Patterson's poisoned
lunch has offered forgiveness Lucy In setting Aaron Patterson's non
parole period, Justice Bill spoke a lot about this being
one of the biggest points that he had to make
(09:40):
a decision on. So tell me about the considerations that
would have gone into his decision.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
I think with the non parole period when there was
the pre sentencing hearing in the last few weeks we've had,
there was a lot of argument between the Crown and
the defense bearer ser Colin man dysc in terms of
should there be a non parole period. The Crown we're
pushing no, she should die in jail. And in the
end the judge said the reason he gave her a
(10:05):
non parole period. So for example, you could call that
a shred of light that one day, at eighty three
years old, she could have some kind of freedom if
she makes it that long, he said. He took into
consideration Erin's life in the Gordon Wing of Dame Phyllis
Frost Center. Now this wing's quite infamous. It is the
most serious isolation wing where generally they're in their cells
(10:27):
for maybe twenty two hours twenty three hours a day
and they don't really mix with each other. They only
mix with staff. So even though she's in theory allowed
out of herself, sometimes she doesn't get out. But they're
saying due to the forthcoming documentaries, books, etc. Her notoriety
will go on, and they're worried that she would be
(10:47):
attacked effectively in prison. So he took that into consideration
in terms of giving her that non parole period, because
he accepts that that's not really standard to keep someone
in segregation. In fact, the UN suggests it should only
be fifteen days at a time, and she's facing many
years at a time in this situation.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, given that, given that it is in breach of
you and guidelines, how long is a situation like that
likely to go on for? Like you would hope, well,
you would think that it might change.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Yeah, I suppose while we're in this frenzy. We've got
the Stand documentary coming out, there's books coming out from
multiple publishers. There's going to be so much attention on this,
and so I think therefore her own safety, I think
it will be for the foreseeable future, might be you know,
a few years, five years, she might be able to
go back and be in the more general area and
(11:41):
have despite what she's done. We're a humane country and
we treat people appropriately, and I think that's important for
us as a society, and so she will be treated
as appropriate for her status at that point. The murders.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Here today is to give some well earned thanks firstly
to Victoria Police, in particular the homicide squad and the
team led by Detective Stephen epping Stall and.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Ian Wilkinson, who was the only person to survive that lunch.
He was there today and he spoke briefly outside of court.
He thanked police, he thanked prosecutors. So tell me a
bit about the impact of all of this on him,
as well as the other community members, family members, friends.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Ian Wilkinson look I remember seeing him at the pre
trial hearing for the first time. Was the first time
he appeared in court. That was last year in the
Supreme Court in the William Street in Melbourne. I was
absolutely blown away by his presentation. He was just so
poised for what had happened, including loss of his wife.
(12:50):
He appeared at the trial. He was very strong, he
got the facts out, he didn't waiver, he wasn't overcome
by emotion. Again, extremely impressive carriage. It was only when
he came to do his victim impact statement two weeks
ago that he did break down as he talked about
Heather's character and she sounded such a wonderful person, absolutely
(13:11):
lovely mother and grandmother who helped her local community, helped family.
And he talked of the loneliness, the isolation, the despair
of being a new widower. He called himself suddenly single,
like at that age, you know, his early seventies, and
he broke down, but he still carried on. He got
through that statement. He had took deep breaths, he paused,
(13:31):
and then of course his daughter, Ruth Dubois, another incredibly
impressive lady, who said how much she missed her mother,
and poignantly she said she was somebody I trusted with
both the best parts and worst parts of myself, knowing
there'd be no judgment. I was really connected to what
she said, and I really realized the loss, and that
(13:53):
really was emotional. And then of course there was many
other statements made, in fact, altogether lodged with the court.
There was twin eight victim statements. The judge was clearly
very moved by that, and he said this has affected generations,
plus their friends, plus the community. He took that into
consideration with the sentencing.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
And so Aaron Patterson now has a month to ludge
an appeal either against her sentence or her conviction or both.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
So does that seem like a thing to happen. Well,
it's up in the air at the moment. She now
has exactly twenty eight days from today, as you mentioned,
to appeal either against conviction or sentence. So it will
be very interesting. Her barrister, Colin Mandy, didn't comment. He
was surrounded by media as he left the court today.
(14:40):
It was interesting there was one point in the judge's
speech where I felt, yeah, he may seemed to suggest
she shouldn't appeal. He pointed out that Ian Wilkinson had
offered her his forgiveness and the quote that Ian Wilkinson
said it was for all those harms done to me,
with full confession and forgiveness. And it was interesting the
(15:01):
judge mentioned that it was perhaps he was saying, you know,
don't appeal, don't put these people through that, and you
make yourself a better person, which is what Ian Wilkinson did.
But look at this point, she's got thirty three years
ahead of her before she's out. That's if she survives
that long in those conditions, and so I think she
probably will appeal. Like she's never confessed, she's put everyone
(15:23):
through a lengthy trial, so we'll have to just see,
but I wouldn't be surprised because she literally has nothing
to lose.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Well, Lissie, thank you so much for be at time today,
Oh my pleasure. Also in the news today, Liberal MP
(15:51):
Alex Hawk has called on just into Number tip a
Price to apologize for the real damage her comments have
caused the Indian Australian community. Price claimed with that evidence
that the federal government was bringing in migrants to win
votes and named the Indian community as an example of that.
The fall that has caused Opposition leader Susan Lee to
attempt damage control with the Indian Australian community holding roundtables
(16:13):
and taking a public tour through Little India. And The
Australian Conservation Foundation has appointed former Greens leader Adam Bant
as the organization's next chief executive. Band, who unexpectedly lost
the seat of Melbourne the May election, will replace longtime
ACF CEO Kelly O'shannessy, who announced earlier this year that
(16:33):
she was resigning. I'm Ruby Jones. This is seven am.
Thanks for listening.
Please stand.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
For the first time ever, the Supreme Court of Victoria
allowed a television camera to broadcast sentencing the hearing for
convicted triple murderer Aaron Patterson for.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
The attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. I sentence you to
twenty five years imprisonment for the murder of Heather Wilkinson.
I sentence you to life imprisonment for the murder of
Gail Paterson. I sentence you to life imprisonment for the
murder of Don Passon. I sentence you to life imprisonment.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
When Justice Christopher Bill sentenced her to life in prison,
it was the conclusion of a story that has captivated
Australia for more than two years.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Oh, it was a big moment. It was a really
big conclusion to this has been building up. It's amazing
to think it's stretched over two years now.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Investigative journalist Lucy Morris Marr has been following the case
ever since the fatal mushroom lunch in Leam Gaffa in
July twenty twenty three, where Aaron Patterson served to beef
Wellington laced with poisonous deathcat mushrooms.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
To her, I think the whole of Australia. They are
watching that live. Of course, it's also a historical moment
today because the Supreme Court of Victoria has never broadcast
a sentencing live or anything live like that. But as
much as the media have gone through this and covered it,
it's nothing like the families, you know, the relief they
must feel today having gone through all that themselves, and
(01:22):
I know for them this has been absolutely exhausting.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
I'm Ruby Jones and you're listening to seven.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
AM today Walkley Award winning journalist and author Lucy Morris
Mark on the impact of Aaron Patterson's crimes and whether
the victims and families will finally have some closure.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
It's Tuesday, September nine. Lucy Erin Patterson has just been
sentenced to life in prison with a minimum prison period
of thirty three years. There were many aggravating factors that
the judge spoke about when he handed down that decision.
One was her lack of remorse. He mentioned that several times.
(02:09):
So tell me what you were thinking as you heard
him lay that out.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Of course, you know, with a judge, you know, naturally
he doesn't ever say his opinion. Really, he did seem
very taken by the victim impact statements a couple of
weeks ago, where seven members of the hugely extended families
stood up and read their victim impact statements, and he
did say, you know, this is a tsunami of pain
and grief, and that got the sense of how he
(02:34):
was feeling. But of course, then to hear him lay
out in detail Erin's planning, her lies, and the way
he did it with such clarity, it just really reiterated
that the jury made the right decision.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
The prosecution submits, and your council concedes that your offending
falls into the worst category of offending for these offenses,
and that you should receive the maximum penalties for your crimes.
I agree for reasons that I will come to in
due course.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
And he was very scathing at times.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Naturally, not only did you cut short three lives and
cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson's health, thereby devastating the
extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on
your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
You know, he said this crime was premeditated and planned.
He made the absolutely clear. He clearly outlined each aspect
for example, looking at death caps on I Naturalist's website.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
That is a website on which people can post and
view sightings of death cap mushrooms, amongst other things. On
the twenty eighth of May twenty two, you access the
I Naturalist website and navigated to its worldwide map in
relation to sightings of deathcap mushrooms.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
She bought a dehy tractor. She took pictures of what
experts later said look like death caps in that de
hopereta and sent them on her friend group with the
true crime friends that she'd made on Facebook.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You photographed forage mushrooms on the trays of your dehydrator.
The images were found by investigators on a Samsung tablet
later seized from your home.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
She invited Simon Patterson to the infamous lunch, saying she
had an important medical news, which of course we now
know is lies.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Simon and you exchanged messages. Simon's read quote, Sorry, I
feel too uncomfortable about coming to the lunch with you, Mum, Dad,
Heather and Ian tomorrow, but I am happy to talk
about your health and implications of that at another time.
If you'd like to discuss on the phone, just let
me know. You replied five minutes later, quote, that's really disappointing.
(04:50):
I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
And the judge said he accepted Ian Wilkinson's evidence that
she served guests on gray live plates and hers was
on a small plate, which was a huge part of
the trial. You know, it just went on and on
and it really reminded those watching live exactly how elaborate
this crime was and intentional. H Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
And he also said that it was clear that she
had wanted her guests to suffer. She would have known
the effect of poisoning with death cat mushrooms, and he
described her what she'd done as falling into the worst
category of murder and attempted murder. So what did you
make of his characterization of how serious her crimes are?
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Absolutely correct. I mean during the trial, I was very
moved and it was very difficult to listen to the
suffering involved in terms of those poor people, the initial
gastro symptoms, which became more and more extreme as the
hours went by, and then their time in hospital was
as medics desperately tried to save them. Their organs were
(05:57):
basically filling with fluid and it was that actually a
reminder that violent crimes don't always have to evolve a
knife or a gun. This was a very nasty, violent crime,
and as he said, she intended to kill them all,
and she showed no pity for her victims. Another quote
he said was you followed through on your lethal plan,
(06:18):
which was actually a quote as he noted from Heather
and Ian's daughter Ruth de Bois, as.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
The Wilkinson's daughter Ruth Dubois remarking her victim impact statement,
you quote followed through on your lethal plan. Your lunch
giars each suffered severe gestro intestinal illness on the Sunday
and Monday prior to being sedated and mechanically ventilated. Their
suffering was protracted.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Because maybe if she said yes, I forage, and they
would have realized there was a chance that they could
have consumed death caps or another seriously poisonous mushroom. They
could have had an antidote or the medication that people
can have to protect from liver damage. So she carried
on the cry in those following days, and he said
their suffering was substantial. It was enormous betrayal of the
(07:08):
trust of your victims. All had been good to you.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that,
they had all been good to you and your children
over many years, as you acknowledged in your testimony.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Very damning, very scathing, and wrote me so.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
And one thing that Justine Spiel pointed out was that
we still don't know why Aaron Patterson did what she DIDs.
Motive was never established, he said, and he was talking
directly to her.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Only you know why you did this.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
So given that, do you think that we're just going
to see endless speculation here about what her motive was.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yes, unless she ever confesses, which it doesn't look likely,
we will never know. I mean, of course, the speculation
there was a fallout. He did mention the family fall
out briefly when she was seeking support from Don and
Gail Patterson regarding her strange husband, Simon's lack of paying
child support for a short time. And there's speculation that
(08:05):
she held onto that grudge even though it was seemed
to be resolved, and that she really held that in
But of course we heard when the pre trial suppression
order was lifted, we heard that, you know, Simon Patterson
alleges that she tried to poison him on several occasions
and made him extremely unwell. But you know, clearly she's
(08:27):
in the right place. Is a very serious crime. This
is a serial killing crime and one that we thankfully
don't see very often in Australia. But she has been
given these life sentences. And yes, it's thirty three years
in prison, non parole period, but actually, if you break
it down, Ian Wilkinson's attempted murder was twenty five years,
(08:48):
the killing of Heather Wilkinson life in prison, Gail Patterson
life in prison, Don Patterson life in prison. I mean,
if you added all that up, it would come to
like one hundred years. But she can only do what
she can do. So it's being done concurrently, and it's
a life sentence with a non parole period of thirty
three years, but she'll be eighty three. Will she live
(09:09):
to see that? We don't know. It's not exactly conducive
healthy conditions where she's being held.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Coming up, why the sole survivor of Erin Patterson's poisoned
lunch has offered forgiveness Lucy In setting Aaron Patterson's non
parole period, Justice Bill spoke a lot about this being
one of the biggest points that he had to make
(09:40):
a decision on. So tell me about the considerations that
would have gone into his decision.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
I think with the non parole period when there was
the pre sentencing hearing in the last few weeks we've had,
there was a lot of argument between the Crown and
the defense bearer ser Colin man dysc in terms of
should there be a non parole period. The Crown we're
pushing no, she should die in jail. And in the
end the judge said the reason he gave her a
(10:05):
non parole period. So for example, you could call that
a shred of light that one day, at eighty three
years old, she could have some kind of freedom if
she makes it that long, he said. He took into
consideration Erin's life in the Gordon Wing of Dame Phyllis
Frost Center. Now this wing's quite infamous. It is the
most serious isolation wing where generally they're in their cells
(10:27):
for maybe twenty two hours twenty three hours a day
and they don't really mix with each other. They only
mix with staff. So even though she's in theory allowed
out of herself, sometimes she doesn't get out. But they're
saying due to the forthcoming documentaries, books, etc. Her notoriety
will go on, and they're worried that she would be
(10:47):
attacked effectively in prison. So he took that into consideration
in terms of giving her that non parole period, because
he accepts that that's not really standard to keep someone
in segregation. In fact, the UN suggests it should only
be fifteen days at a time, and she's facing many
years at a time in this situation.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, given that, given that it is in breach of
you and guidelines, how long is a situation like that
likely to go on for? Like you would hope, well,
you would think that it might change.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Yeah, I suppose while we're in this frenzy. We've got
the Stand documentary coming out, there's books coming out from
multiple publishers. There's going to be so much attention on this,
and so I think therefore her own safety, I think
it will be for the foreseeable future, might be you know,
a few years, five years, she might be able to
go back and be in the more general area and
(11:41):
have despite what she's done. We're a humane country and
we treat people appropriately, and I think that's important for
us as a society, and so she will be treated
as appropriate for her status at that point. The murders.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Here today is to give some well earned thanks firstly
to Victoria Police, in particular the homicide squad and the
team led by Detective Stephen epping Stall and.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Ian Wilkinson, who was the only person to survive that lunch.
He was there today and he spoke briefly outside of court.
He thanked police, he thanked prosecutors. So tell me a
bit about the impact of all of this on him,
as well as the other community members, family members, friends.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Ian Wilkinson look I remember seeing him at the pre
trial hearing for the first time. Was the first time
he appeared in court. That was last year in the
Supreme Court in the William Street in Melbourne. I was
absolutely blown away by his presentation. He was just so
poised for what had happened, including loss of his wife.
(12:50):
He appeared at the trial. He was very strong, he
got the facts out, he didn't waiver, he wasn't overcome
by emotion. Again, extremely impressive carriage. It was only when
he came to do his victim impact statement two weeks
ago that he did break down as he talked about
Heather's character and she sounded such a wonderful person, absolutely
(13:11):
lovely mother and grandmother who helped her local community, helped family.
And he talked of the loneliness, the isolation, the despair
of being a new widower. He called himself suddenly single,
like at that age, you know, his early seventies, and
he broke down, but he still carried on. He got
through that statement. He had took deep breaths, he paused,
(13:31):
and then of course his daughter, Ruth Dubois, another incredibly
impressive lady, who said how much she missed her mother,
and poignantly she said she was somebody I trusted with
both the best parts and worst parts of myself, knowing
there'd be no judgment. I was really connected to what
she said, and I really realized the loss, and that
(13:53):
really was emotional. And then of course there was many
other statements made, in fact, altogether lodged with the court.
There was twin eight victim statements. The judge was clearly
very moved by that, and he said this has affected generations,
plus their friends, plus the community. He took that into
consideration with the sentencing.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
And so Aaron Patterson now has a month to ludge
an appeal either against her sentence or her conviction or both.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
So does that seem like a thing to happen. Well,
it's up in the air at the moment. She now
has exactly twenty eight days from today, as you mentioned,
to appeal either against conviction or sentence. So it will
be very interesting. Her barrister, Colin Mandy, didn't comment. He
was surrounded by media as he left the court today.
(14:40):
It was interesting there was one point in the judge's
speech where I felt, yeah, he may seemed to suggest
she shouldn't appeal. He pointed out that Ian Wilkinson had
offered her his forgiveness and the quote that Ian Wilkinson
said it was for all those harms done to me,
with full confession and forgiveness. And it was interesting the
(15:01):
judge mentioned that it was perhaps he was saying, you know,
don't appeal, don't put these people through that, and you
make yourself a better person, which is what Ian Wilkinson did.
But look at this point, she's got thirty three years
ahead of her before she's out. That's if she survives
that long in those conditions, and so I think she
probably will appeal. Like she's never confessed, she's put everyone
(15:23):
through a lengthy trial, so we'll have to just see,
but I wouldn't be surprised because she literally has nothing
to lose.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Well, Lissie, thank you so much for be at time today,
Oh my pleasure. Also in the news today, Liberal MP
(15:51):
Alex Hawk has called on just into Number tip a
Price to apologize for the real damage her comments have
caused the Indian Australian community. Price claimed with that evidence
that the federal government was bringing in migrants to win
votes and named the Indian community as an example of that.
The fall that has caused Opposition leader Susan Lee to
attempt damage control with the Indian Australian community holding roundtables
(16:13):
and taking a public tour through Little India. And The
Australian Conservation Foundation has appointed former Greens leader Adam Bant
as the organization's next chief executive. Band, who unexpectedly lost
the seat of Melbourne the May election, will replace longtime
ACF CEO Kelly O'shannessy, who announced earlier this year that
(16:33):
she was resigning. I'm Ruby Jones. This is seven am.
Thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.