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Prosecutors are moving to take control of the home where Erin Patterson poisoned her lunch guests with death cap-laced beef Wellingtons so that it can be sold to compensate her victims.
The Director of Public Prosecutions filed an application for a secret restraining order on July 16 – nine days after Patterson was convicted – that prevents the sale of the property.
Erin Patterson’s home in Leongatha after plastic sheeting was installed as a privacy screen.Credit: Simon Schluter
The $1.2 million country home, which Patterson helped design, is believed to be the mother of two’s last remaining asset, having sold a unit in Mount Waverley six weeks after being charged.
The 50-year-old faces massive legal bills for her 10-week trial, in which she was defended by a team of two solicitors and two barristers who have been representing her for nearly two years. Patterson is expected to file an appeal against her conviction, a process that could run for years.
The DPP’s application was made on the basis that the property, located on a quiet cul-de-sac in the outskirts of Leongatha, was “tainted”.
The order was granted by Justice Michelle Quigley in a closed court on July 23.
Patterson’s house in July.Credit: Simon Schluter
“The property specified … be restrained for the purposes of preserving the property so that the property will be available … to satisfy any order for restitution or compensation under the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic).”
But the move could be contested by Patterson’s legal representation – the firm Doogue & George – which has already staked a financial claim over the sprawling homestead to cover their legal bills.
Just before the start of the trial in April, the firm lodged a mortgage over Patterson’s home – a standard move to secure future fees.
A graffiti mural of Erin Patterson has been altered to add the word “guilty” in a laneway near the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Legal sources speaking on condition of anonymity said the DPP could challenge the mortgage and argue Doogue & George knew at the time it was taken out that the property was “risky” since Patterson cooked the beef Wellington parcels used to commit the crime in the kitchen.
However, the source said Patterson’s lawyers could also argue that prosecutors had a chance to restrain the property earlier and failed to do so. They could also argue Patterson had not been convicted at the time, and it was their view that she hadn’t committed any offences.
“It’s for a judge to ultimately say,” one source said. “If one of them wants to go off to the Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal might see it differently.”
Patterson served the poisoned meal to her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian Wilkinson, in the Gibson Street property on July 29, 2023.
Don, Gail and Heather died less than a week later. Ian, a Baptist pastor in Korumburra, eventually recovered after spending several weeks in hospital, most of those in a coma.
The Director of Public Prosecutions filed an application for a secret restraining order on July 16 – nine days after Patterson was convicted – that prevents the sale of the property.Credit: Simon Schluter
Ian, as well as members of the Wilkinson and Patterson families, could be eligible for compensation.
The five-bedroom property is likely to be difficult to sell, given its history as the scene of a major crime and the ghoulish attraction it has become for true-crime fans.
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True-crime aficionados and curious locals have been frequently spotted driving along the quiet road to take a peek at the house.
The 1.2 hectare property, surrounded by gumtrees and paddocks, has been labelled “Erin’s Mushroom House” on Google Maps. The listing includes a 5-star review by an online user alongside jokes about the mushroom meal.
Just before the 12-person jury began deliberations in the case, black plastic sheeting was used to cover the external fencing of the property – creating a kind of privacy shield. It was taken down days after the guilty verdicts.
During the trial, Patterson spoke about her Leongatha house, telling the jury she’d helped design it using Microsoft Paint and wanted it to be her forever home.
It was her dream, she said, for the house to be open to her children so that they could feel free to return after they moved away for university or for work. One day, she told the court, she hoped her children could bring their own children to visit. “I’d grow old there,” she said. “That’s what I’d hoped.”
The latest council valuation for the property is $1,175,000.
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