Patterson appeal challenges admissibility of phone tower and mushroom-sighting evidence that underpinned murder convictions

Erin Patterson's lawyers told the Victorian Court of Appeal on 20 August 2026 that phone tower data and iNaturalist death cap mushroom sighting records should never have reached the jury, arguing the evidence was irrelevant or unfairly prejudicial. The Crown countered that together the evidence showed Patterson had the opportunity to source death cap mushrooms before the fatal Leongatha lunch. If the court finds the trial judge erred in admitting it, her three murder convictions could be vulnerable. Patterson was convicted in 2025 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a 33-year non-parole period.