Court upholds murder convictions and removes parole eligibility for poisoning case

Australia's Court of Appeal has rejected Erin Patterson's appeal against her murder convictions and ruled that she will never be released from prison. Patterson, 51, was found guilty of killing three people by serving them poisonous mushrooms in a beef dish at her home in July 2023. A fourth person survived. The original sentence gave her a chance of parole around 2056, but prosecutors argued this was too lenient. The court agreed and removed the parole option completely. Patterson had challenged her convictions on seven grounds, but the court rejected all of them. She is currently held in a maximum-security prison. She now has 28 days to decide if she will ask a higher court, the High Court of Australia, to review the case.