July 31, 2025 • 10 mins
While Erin Patterson awaits sentencing over the mushroom lunch, another potential legal standoff is on the horizon.
The Mushroom Cook team is Brooke Grebert-Craig, Laura Placella, Anthony Dowsley, Jordy Atkinson and Jonty Burton.
The Mushroom Cook is a Herald Sun production for True Crime Australia.
Go to themushroomcook.com.au for news, features, previous episodes and more
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Aaron Patterson is guilty and is awaiting a sentence for
her crimes. Meanwhile, another legal standoff is on the horizon.
I'm Brook Greevert Craig and this is the Mushroom Book.
Hi Laura, nice of you to join me after three
weeks off the mics.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yes, it was lovely to have a break, but I'm
excited to be back here to talk about a development.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yes, so Aaron Patterson's lean Gatha home has been restrained
by authorities.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yes, so this is very legally complicated, but I really
try to break it down so our listeners understand. So,
of course we all know that about a month ago
Aaron was found guilty of three counts of murder and
one count of attempted murder. She hasn't been sentenced yet.
That will happen in the coming months, but there are
some other legal processes that can start happening in the background.
(00:52):
And one of the things the prosecution is looking at
is how the victims and their families can be compensated.
So when we talk about the victim in this case,
ian As, the only guest to survive the lunch, was
the only victim who was physically harmed by Aaron's heinous actions.
But when we think about this case more broadly, there
(01:12):
were people around Don and Gale and Heather and Ian
who were also very hurt by what she did. Don
and Gale had four children, and so did Heather and Ian,
and all of those children, which include Aaron's estranged husband,
Simon Patterson, would have felt immense pain and grief in
the wake of their deaths, and they also stand to
(01:35):
be compensated for what has happened. So we know that
Aaron owns this house in Lee and Gutha. It was
obviously the center of this lunch and she has owned
it for a few years. But now, like you say,
it's been restrained by the court, which means she's not
allowed to sell it. She's actually not allowed to do
anything with it.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
And when you say restrained by the court, what does
that look like in particular.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, that's a great question. So about two weeks ago
the prosecution applied for that restraining order and that requires
them to go to court, but it's not necessarily the
same court the trial happened in this matter was going
to be heard before a completely different judge, and they
told her they wanted to restrain her home, so it
could eventually be sold off and that money be given
(02:19):
to the victims, but.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
That potential compensation may be opposed by Eron's defense lawyers.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Is that right, Laura, Yes, And that's primarily because Erin
maintains her innocence, So no paperwork yet has been lodged
for an appeal, but we are expecting Erin to appeal
both her conviction and the eventual sentence that she will
be handed, So it makes sense that a defense team
will oppose these compensation orders because they don't want any
(02:45):
of this money to go to the victims until Erin
has had a chance to fight this appeal.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
And her lawyers took out a mortgage over the property.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
They did, and this is where things start to get
a little bit murky. So the house has been restrained,
which means pretty much right now nothing can happen with it.
Erin will be sentenced in the coming months and then
those applications for compensation may be lodged. But we actually
don't know yet if any applications will be lodged. We
don't know if Ian or his children are seeking money,
(03:17):
and we also don't know if Simon and his siblings
are seeking money. But if those applications are made and
they are granted by the court, what would usually happen
is the house would be forfeited. It would then be
sold and the proceeds from that sale would be distributed
amongst all of the victims. But that mortgage you mentioned
does kind of get in the way of that process.
(03:39):
The mortgage was taken out by the law firm that
defended erin a trial. We didn't talk about the firm
too much, but the firm is called Duke and George
and they were the ones that were helping out defense
barristers Colin Mandy and Sophie Stafford. Because it's not just
the barristers who represent and accused. There's a whole team
of lawyers that are working on the case in the background.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
So essentially, her lawyers have taken out a mortgage so
they can get paid.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, it's like an insurance policy. They're not done representing
erin yet, but at the very end, when it's time
for them to get paid, they would have taken out
this mortgage to make sure that that can occur. But
it remains to be seen how this will play out
in court. It's unclear who will actually get the first
bite of the cherry when it comes to the proceeds
of this sale. So will it be Ian and the
(04:26):
other victims' families or will it be the law firm
that represented Erin.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
And does this happen in other cases? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
It does. This is pretty standard. We had another high
profile case in Victoria recently, the trial of Jetstar pilot
Greg Lynn, who was found guilty of one count of murder.
Before his trial took place, his home in Caroline Springs
was also restrained by authorities. But it does seem that
the timing of these restraining orders can differ. In Greg
(04:55):
Lynn's case, his house was restrained before the trial started,
But here we saw it occur her after the convictions
had come down.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
And why do you think that happened.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
It's hard to know, and I feel like I would
only be speculating. But because of the timing of the
restraining order, it did mean that Dougan George were able
to get that mortgage on the home. If Aaron's house
was restrained months ago when she was initially charged with murder,
then she wouldn't have been allowed to put any sort
of mortgages over her property. Because, like I said at
(05:26):
the top of the episode. Restraining orders prevent you from
dealing with your property at all. So the timing has
actually meant that the law firm have had a chance
to get in early. But it remains to be seen
how that mortgage will play out when it comes time
to potentially hand down that compensation.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
And I know this would just be speculation, but do
we think that Aaron would not be happy that this
restraining over her house has occurred.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I can imagine she wouldn't be pleased, but it probably
was something that her law firm had worded her up about.
They probably told her a long time ago that this
was something she should expect since it does happen in
other cases, and it was maybe just a matter of
time that it happened in hers.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
That's true, and during the trial we did hear that
Aaron saw this house as her final home. It was
a place where she saw her children growing up, then
going off to UNI, and then coming back, and it
was also a place that she saw herself growing old.
So we know that she really did love this home and.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
We believe it was her last remaining asset. Our listeners
will remember during the trial that there was a lot
of evidence around all of the homes she had purchased
in the past and then sold off.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Yes, just to remind our listeners, she had the property
in Nasan Street in karam Bara. She also had two
properties in Lcotte Road in karam Burra, and she also
had a property in Mount Waverley which we know sold
for more than one million dollars after she was charged.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
And speaking of prices, the Lee and Gatha Holme is
also estimated to be worth more than one million dollars.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
So that's the major development for today. At the top
of the episode, Laura, you did mention about Aaron appealing.
Can you explain what is brewing in the background.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
I wish I actually had more to say on this,
but we don't know too much at this stage because
Aaron's defense team can't actually file and appeal until she's
been sentenced. But whenever that does happen, they'll have twenty
eight days to get their paperwork in to the court
and say we want to appeal on these grounds and
that process can then get underway.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And speaking about sentencing, when will she be sentenced?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
I don't feel like I'm being very helpful here because
we don't know that either we expect her to be
sentenced in the coming months, but we don't have the
date for that yet because first she has to face
something called a pre sentence hearing. So I feel like
we're working backwards here a little bit. But the appeal
is what happens at the very end before that will
be the sentence. But the next step in the road is,
(08:00):
like I said, the pre sentence hearing, and this will
be an opportunity that Ian and the others will have
to provide victim impact statements to the court. And these
can be very powerful statements that can either be read
in court by the people themselves or can be read
by the prosecutors. But it's their opportunity to explain to
(08:22):
Justice Christopher Beale how these murders have affected their lives.
They can be some of the most emotional days we
experience as court reporters because you're sitting there in this
court room only meets away from these victims as they
painfully make their way through these statements. And that's the
(08:43):
reason why some people don't choose to read them themselves
in court. It can be much easier to allow the
prosecutor to do that. But either way, you're still hearing
in their own words that raw emotion and the impact
that these crimes have had on them. So the victim
impact statements will be the center of the prosecution's submissions
(09:04):
as they argue Erin should be sentenced to life behind bars.
But when it comes to the defense they are likely
to tender psychiatric reports and other material that they will
argue are the reasons that Erin should be served a
minimum sentence. Essentially, they're saying that at some point in
the future she should be released from jail to live
out the rest of her.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Days, and that will be happening in Melbourne and not
more Well. Is that right.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
That's my understanding. It hasn't been confirmed yet by the court,
but Erin's right to have her trial heard in more
Well pretty much ended when those verdicts came down. The
jury has been discharged, so we don't need them anymore. So,
as I said, I believe that will be taking place
at Melbourne in the Supreme.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Court, and we don't know when that particular hearing is happening.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
We don't know yet, but we should find out soon.
The parties will be in court next week and will
be able to tune in and they should be discussing
when that hearing can take place.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
So you and I will be back on the mics
then hopefully see you then
Aaron Patterson is guilty and is awaiting a sentence for
her crimes. Meanwhile, another legal standoff is on the horizon.
I'm Brook Greevert Craig and this is the Mushroom Book.
Hi Laura, nice of you to join me after three
weeks off the mics.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yes, it was lovely to have a break, but I'm
excited to be back here to talk about a development.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yes, so Aaron Patterson's lean Gatha home has been restrained
by authorities.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yes, so this is very legally complicated, but I really
try to break it down so our listeners understand. So,
of course we all know that about a month ago
Aaron was found guilty of three counts of murder and
one count of attempted murder. She hasn't been sentenced yet.
That will happen in the coming months, but there are
some other legal processes that can start happening in the background.
(00:52):
And one of the things the prosecution is looking at
is how the victims and their families can be compensated.
So when we talk about the victim in this case,
ian As, the only guest to survive the lunch, was
the only victim who was physically harmed by Aaron's heinous actions.
But when we think about this case more broadly, there
(01:12):
were people around Don and Gale and Heather and Ian
who were also very hurt by what she did. Don
and Gale had four children, and so did Heather and Ian,
and all of those children, which include Aaron's estranged husband,
Simon Patterson, would have felt immense pain and grief in
the wake of their deaths, and they also stand to
(01:35):
be compensated for what has happened. So we know that
Aaron owns this house in Lee and Gutha. It was
obviously the center of this lunch and she has owned
it for a few years. But now, like you say,
it's been restrained by the court, which means she's not
allowed to sell it. She's actually not allowed to do
anything with it.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
And when you say restrained by the court, what does
that look like in particular.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, that's a great question. So about two weeks ago
the prosecution applied for that restraining order and that requires
them to go to court, but it's not necessarily the
same court the trial happened in this matter was going
to be heard before a completely different judge, and they
told her they wanted to restrain her home, so it
could eventually be sold off and that money be given
(02:19):
to the victims, but.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
That potential compensation may be opposed by Eron's defense lawyers.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Is that right, Laura, Yes, And that's primarily because Erin
maintains her innocence, So no paperwork yet has been lodged
for an appeal, but we are expecting Erin to appeal
both her conviction and the eventual sentence that she will
be handed, So it makes sense that a defense team
will oppose these compensation orders because they don't want any
(02:45):
of this money to go to the victims until Erin
has had a chance to fight this appeal.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
And her lawyers took out a mortgage over the property.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
They did, and this is where things start to get
a little bit murky. So the house has been restrained,
which means pretty much right now nothing can happen with it.
Erin will be sentenced in the coming months and then
those applications for compensation may be lodged. But we actually
don't know yet if any applications will be lodged. We
don't know if Ian or his children are seeking money,
(03:17):
and we also don't know if Simon and his siblings
are seeking money. But if those applications are made and
they are granted by the court, what would usually happen
is the house would be forfeited. It would then be
sold and the proceeds from that sale would be distributed
amongst all of the victims. But that mortgage you mentioned
does kind of get in the way of that process.
(03:39):
The mortgage was taken out by the law firm that
defended erin a trial. We didn't talk about the firm
too much, but the firm is called Duke and George
and they were the ones that were helping out defense
barristers Colin Mandy and Sophie Stafford. Because it's not just
the barristers who represent and accused. There's a whole team
of lawyers that are working on the case in the background.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
So essentially, her lawyers have taken out a mortgage so
they can get paid.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, it's like an insurance policy. They're not done representing
erin yet, but at the very end, when it's time
for them to get paid, they would have taken out
this mortgage to make sure that that can occur. But
it remains to be seen how this will play out
in court. It's unclear who will actually get the first
bite of the cherry when it comes to the proceeds
of this sale. So will it be Ian and the
(04:26):
other victims' families or will it be the law firm
that represented Erin.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
And does this happen in other cases? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
It does. This is pretty standard. We had another high
profile case in Victoria recently, the trial of Jetstar pilot
Greg Lynn, who was found guilty of one count of murder.
Before his trial took place, his home in Caroline Springs
was also restrained by authorities. But it does seem that
the timing of these restraining orders can differ. In Greg
(04:55):
Lynn's case, his house was restrained before the trial started,
But here we saw it occur her after the convictions
had come down.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
And why do you think that happened.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
It's hard to know, and I feel like I would
only be speculating. But because of the timing of the
restraining order, it did mean that Dougan George were able
to get that mortgage on the home. If Aaron's house
was restrained months ago when she was initially charged with murder,
then she wouldn't have been allowed to put any sort
of mortgages over her property. Because, like I said at
(05:26):
the top of the episode. Restraining orders prevent you from
dealing with your property at all. So the timing has
actually meant that the law firm have had a chance
to get in early. But it remains to be seen
how that mortgage will play out when it comes time
to potentially hand down that compensation.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
And I know this would just be speculation, but do
we think that Aaron would not be happy that this
restraining over her house has occurred.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I can imagine she wouldn't be pleased, but it probably
was something that her law firm had worded her up about.
They probably told her a long time ago that this
was something she should expect since it does happen in
other cases, and it was maybe just a matter of
time that it happened in hers.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
That's true, and during the trial we did hear that
Aaron saw this house as her final home. It was
a place where she saw her children growing up, then
going off to UNI, and then coming back, and it
was also a place that she saw herself growing old.
So we know that she really did love this home and.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
We believe it was her last remaining asset. Our listeners
will remember during the trial that there was a lot
of evidence around all of the homes she had purchased
in the past and then sold off.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Yes, just to remind our listeners, she had the property
in Nasan Street in karam Bara. She also had two
properties in Lcotte Road in karam Burra, and she also
had a property in Mount Waverley which we know sold
for more than one million dollars after she was charged.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
And speaking of prices, the Lee and Gatha Holme is
also estimated to be worth more than one million dollars.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
So that's the major development for today. At the top
of the episode, Laura, you did mention about Aaron appealing.
Can you explain what is brewing in the background.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
I wish I actually had more to say on this,
but we don't know too much at this stage because
Aaron's defense team can't actually file and appeal until she's
been sentenced. But whenever that does happen, they'll have twenty
eight days to get their paperwork in to the court
and say we want to appeal on these grounds and
that process can then get underway.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And speaking about sentencing, when will she be sentenced?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
I don't feel like I'm being very helpful here because
we don't know that either we expect her to be
sentenced in the coming months, but we don't have the
date for that yet because first she has to face
something called a pre sentence hearing. So I feel like
we're working backwards here a little bit. But the appeal
is what happens at the very end before that will
be the sentence. But the next step in the road is,
(08:00):
like I said, the pre sentence hearing, and this will
be an opportunity that Ian and the others will have
to provide victim impact statements to the court. And these
can be very powerful statements that can either be read
in court by the people themselves or can be read
by the prosecutors. But it's their opportunity to explain to
(08:22):
Justice Christopher Beale how these murders have affected their lives.
They can be some of the most emotional days we
experience as court reporters because you're sitting there in this
court room only meets away from these victims as they
painfully make their way through these statements. And that's the
(08:43):
reason why some people don't choose to read them themselves
in court. It can be much easier to allow the
prosecutor to do that. But either way, you're still hearing
in their own words that raw emotion and the impact
that these crimes have had on them. So the victim
impact statements will be the center of the prosecution's submissions
(09:04):
as they argue Erin should be sentenced to life behind bars.
But when it comes to the defense they are likely
to tender psychiatric reports and other material that they will
argue are the reasons that Erin should be served a
minimum sentence. Essentially, they're saying that at some point in
the future she should be released from jail to live
out the rest of her.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Days, and that will be happening in Melbourne and not
more Well. Is that right.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
That's my understanding. It hasn't been confirmed yet by the court,
but Erin's right to have her trial heard in more
Well pretty much ended when those verdicts came down. The
jury has been discharged, so we don't need them anymore. So,
as I said, I believe that will be taking place
at Melbourne in the Supreme.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Court, and we don't know when that particular hearing is happening.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
We don't know yet, but we should find out soon.
The parties will be in court next week and will
be able to tune in and they should be discussing
when that hearing can take place.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
So you and I will be back on the mics
then hopefully see you then
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