Erin Patterson’s former inmate has made shocking claims about the murderer’s life behind bars.
Patterson, 50, was found guilty of poisoning three of her in-laws with a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms and will be sentenced after listening to victim impact statements at the Victorian Supreme Court, starting today.
A jury convicted the Leongatha woman of murdering Don and Gail Patterson, the parents of her estranged husband, Simon, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson.
In addition to the three murders, Patterson was also convicted of attempting to kill Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson.
Justice Christopher Beale will decide on a head sentence and a non-parole period for the convicted killer.
Her lawyers will state mitigating factors which they argue should afford her some leniency.
However, she will without doubt return to her cell at Melbourne’s only all-female maximum security prison, at Ravenhall, 20km west of the city.
A former inmate, who was released in March this year, branded Patterson “a real rude b***h” and claimed her cell was filthy.
‘Her cell was a pig sty. She was very serious, never smiled, only made fun of people, was narcissistic and hardly slept,’ the former inmate told news.com.au.
She claimed when the triple murdered first moved to the Murray Unit, the protection unit, other inmates would say hello to her but she would ignore them.
‘Any interaction she has with people, she tries to manipulate them and make them feel like shit,’ she said.
The inmate claimed Patterson didn’t deny her crimes but said they couldn’t be proved and didn’t believe she would be convicted.
She said there’s no way Patterson will be able to cope with spending her life behind bars.
She claimed Patterson spends her time crocheting and thought she was ‘entitled to whatever she wants’ because her case is so high profile.
‘She spent her time by herself arguing with another inmate about who was getting more attention,’ the former inmate added.
On Monday, Patterson will be transported from Dame Phyllis Frost Centre to face a pre-sentence hearing in Melbourne’s Supreme Court.
There she will be forced to hear about the devastation she inflicted on loved ones of her victims as they present their victim impact statements to the court.
It’s understood that Simon Patterson will not attend Monday’s hearing in person.
Earlier this month, when Justice Beale asked how many statements were expected, Crown prosecutor Jane Warren answered: ‘All I can say is a lot.’
Among those expected to confront Patterson are Ian, Don and Gail’s four children, and Heather and Ian’s four children.
They will be given the option to read out their statements or have them shared by a prosecutor.
One of the most anticipated statements is from Simon, who did not attend the trial in person except for the three days he testified as a witness.
