Mushroom murderer Erin Patterson loses conviction appeal as judges find 33-year term too short

Erin Patterson, the Australian woman known as the mushroom murderer, has lost her bid to overturn her triple-murder conviction, after Victoria's Court of Appeal dismissed her challenge. In the same proceedings, the court ruled in favour of prosecutors, who had argued that Patterson's original sentence of 33 years with parole was insufficient. Judges agreed that the initial non-parole period of 33 years was too short. The combined outcome means Patterson's convictions now stand, while the minimum time she must serve before becoming eligible for release is set to increase. The ruling raises the prospect that she may spend the rest of her life in prison. The decisions were delivered by Victoria's Court of Appeal, which considered both Patterson's challenge to her conviction and the prosecution's challenge to her sentence. BBC correspondent Katy Watson was in court for the ruling and explained what happened during the hearing in a video report published on 30 October 2026. The BBC report did not specify the revised non-parole period set by the court, but confirmed that judges accepted the prosecution's argument that the original term was inadequate.