Peering through tortoiseshell glasses and dressed in a baggy jumper, mushroom chef Erin Patterson was low-key as she faced court charged with murder: WAYNE FLOWER reports from inside the courtroom
Dressed in a loose-fitting, beige sweater, Erin Patterson appeared in court in plain clothes for the last time in the near future on Thursday.
Instead of, the 49-year-old will be forced to wear prison greens as she is taken away to await trial within the confines of Victoria’s infamous Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
On Thursday, homicide squad detectives arrested Patterson at her home in Leongatha and charged her with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
Patterson has now spent months behind bars on remand, in a cold concrete cell, most likely isolated, away from the general prison population.
Mushroom chef Erin Patterson as she appeared in court Friday, peering from behind tortoiseshell glasses, hours after learning she had been charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder. Court sketch by Anita Lester
On Friday, Patterson sat quietly in the LaTrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court as her immediate fate was discussed.
The stay-at-home mother could do little but smile and accept the news that she would not return to court until May next year.
Patterson was calm as she watched the events through her tortoiseshell glasses.
Behind the glass were more than a dozen journalists, many of whom had knocked on her door at some point in recent months.
Patterson was under no illusions that she was facing a prison sentence.
Before the hearing even started, her attorney Bill Doogue told her he could not apply for bail at this time.
The veteran attorney told Patterson he would work to have her released on bail at a later date.
Erin Patterson’s next court date is set for May 2024. She can still apply for bail during this time
Erin Patterson after meeting with her lawyers earlier this year
He faces an uphill battle, with Victoria’s justice system setting the bar extremely high for the release of a person charged with crimes of this severity pending trial.
Patterson reluctantly agreed to her pre-trial detention – not that she had any say in the matter.
Magistrate Tim Walsh told Patterson he had no authority to even consider granting her bail.
That will be a decision for a Supreme Court judge when and if this happens.
Patterson sat between two burly prison guards on Friday, glaring at the media pack as she was stood up and shown the exit.
Bail hearing or no bail hearing, the next time she will be seen again it will be from the confines of a prison interrogation room, dressed in loose-fitting prison greens.