Mushroom chef killer Erin Patterson may avoid a life sentence in jail because prison doctors diagnosed her with a rare psychological condition two years ago.
Daily Mail Australia has been told doctors who treated Patterson when she first arrived at the Dame Phyllis Frost Correctional Centre after her arrest in November 2023 found she had had Munchausen’s Syndrome.
It is a a psychological condition where someone pretends to be ill or deliberately produces symptoms of illness in themselves.
It is done with the intention of ‘assuming the sick role’ so friends and family will care for them and make them the centre of attention.
The condition could potentially save Patterson from being jailed for life if it’s cited as a mitigating factor for the murders, although that outcome is unlikely.
Patterson, 50, was convicted of the murders of her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Heather’s husband Ian.
She admitted in court to lying about having been diagnosed with cancer to obtain sympathy from her intended murder victims.
During her ten-week trial at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, eastern Victoria, the jury heard Patterson relished the attention she got from her in-laws by pretending to be sick.
Erin Patterson was diagnosed with a rare psychological condition two years ago
The women’s prison where Erin Patterson is expected to spend much of the remainder of her life
Patterson makes her final trip back to jail after the jury verdict sealed her fate
The court heard from sole survivor Ian Wilkinson that Patterson told her lunch guests she had undertaken a scan which showed a tumour.
While Don Patterson was dying in Korumburra Hospital following the lunch, he told hospital staff Patterson had mentioned she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the jury heard.
But Patterson admitted she didn’t have any medical appointments relating to cancer, despite telling Gail Patterson she was undergoing medical investigations.
And in the witness box, Patterson told the jury she had lapped up the attention she received from her in-laws in response to her fictitious cancer diagnosis.
‘I had initially thought I had an issue with my elbow, I’d had a lot of pain for a number of weeks, I thought I had a lump,’ she told the jury.
‘I had told Don and Gail about what I was worried about. I’d probably whinged a bit too much to Don and Gail about it and felt a bit embarrassed by that.
‘They made me feel loved and cared for in the way that they were asking about my health and I didn’t want that to stop, so I kept going.’
On July 7, a jury found Patterson killed and attempted to kill her victims in cold blood.
Munchausen Syndrome is a psychological condition where someone pretends to be ill or deliberately produces symptoms of illness in themselves to get attention and sympathy
The final resting place of Don and Gail Patterson
A date for Patterson’s pre-sentence plea hearing is yet to be fixed, but is expected to take place sometime in August.
Patterson had been defended at trial by top Melbourne barrister Colin Mandy, KC and Sophie Stafford.
A plea hearing allows a convicted criminal to have submissions made on their behalf to try and mitigate a jail sentence.
Patterson faces the prospect of a life sentence without parole unless she can persuade Justice Christopher Beale that there are compelling reasons for her eventual release.
These reasons often revolve around remorse and an offender’s ‘insight’ into the crimes that led to their conviction.
A person who pleads not guilty and goes to trial normally receives a more severe penalty than someone who spares their victims the burden of having to give evidence at trial.
Often, a medical explanation for one’s offending can help mitigate a sentence.
Such mental conditions, when accepted by the court, routinely earn violent offenders discounts on their sentences.
Erin Patterson’s barrister Colin Mandy, KC will do what he can to try and spare his client a life sentence in jail
Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall leaves the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell after the jury delivered its verdict
The Leongatha home of Erin Patterson where she lured her lunch guests to their deaths
‘Verdins principles’ – as they are known under Victoria’s Sentencing Act of 1991 – reduce the offender’s moral culpability and force a judge to consider the added ‘hardship’ jail will have on them.
They are principles rolled out and relied upon by convicted criminals and their lawyers on a daily basis in Victoria.
It remains unclear if Patterson intends to allow herself to be assessed by a forensic psychiatrist before her sentence.
Both prison and police sources have suggested Patterson is unlikely to admit to any form of mental illness or change her story at plea in an effort to save her skin.
‘She’s a narcissist,’ one source said. ‘She loves the attention and I doubt she’ll be falling on her sword now and making any kind of admissions.’
Patterson remains locked up in solitary confinement for her own safety.
There she spends almost 24-hours a day alone.
Prison sources have since poured cold water on earlier reports that suggested Patterson had been working in the prison kitchen.
‘She’s not working anywhere. And she sure as hell isn’t working in the prison kitchen. She gets all her food brought into her. She’s not going anywhere anytime soon,’ a source said.
Erin Patterson discharges herself from hospital just minutes after arriving
The dining table where Patterson killed her lunch guests
Patterson was caught on CCTV at a service station where she made a nine second stop at the toilets
High profile Melbourne criminal lawyer George Balot, of Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers, told Daily Mail Australia Patterson still faced significant challenges to earn herself a discounted sentence.
‘Mitigating factors are details about the offender and their offence that tend to reduce the severity of their sentence for example the offender’s previous good character, the likely effects of prison on the offender for example, if the offender has a medical condition that would be hard to manage in prison,’ he said.
‘Courts can consider factors such as the offender’s mental health.
‘Generally speaking ill health will be a factor tending to mitigate punishment only when it appears that imprisonment will be a greater burden on the offender by reason of their state of health or when there is a serious risk of imprisonment having a gravely adverse effect on the offender’s health.
‘Sentencing individuals with Munchausen Syndrome or Factitious Disorder is a difficult exercise because the condition is complex.
‘Sentencing decisions consider the offender’s potential for rehabilitation.
‘While it is not a recognised medical diagnosis, the courts acknowledge the underlying personality disorder and its impact on behaviour when determining appropriate sentences.
‘Also protective custody is normally mitigating if evidence shows conditions are harsh.’
Patterson will be sentenced at a date to be fixed.
