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Speaker 1: We've just come out of the Supreme Court of Melbourne

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Speaker 1: for Aaron Patterson sentencing for the murders of Doningale Patterson

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Speaker 1: and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson.

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Speaker 2: Erin was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non parole

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Speaker 2: period of thirty three years. This means that with time served,

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Speaker 2: Erin will be eligible for parole in twenty fifty six.

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Speaker 2: If alive, she'll be in her early eighties.

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Speaker 1: Aaron had her eyes closed for the majority of the

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Speaker 1: hearing and she showed little emotion on her face.

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Speaker 2: Ian was there like he was every single day of

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Speaker 2: the trial, and he spoke outside of court. We'll bring

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Speaker 2: you what Justice Christopherville said in court today and what

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Speaker 2: Ian said outside.

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Speaker 1: I'm Brook Greebert Craig, I'm Laura Placella, and this is

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Speaker 1: the mushroom cook.

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Speaker 3: For the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. I sentenced you

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Speaker 3: to twenty five years imprisonment for the murder of Heather Wilkinson.

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Speaker 3: I sentenced you to life imprisonment for the murder of

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Speaker 3: Gail Patterson. I sentence you to life imprisonment for the

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Speaker 3: murder of Don Patterson. I sentence you to life imprisonment.

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Speaker 3: All sentences are to be served concurrently. The total effective

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Speaker 3: sentence is life imprisonment, and I fix a non parole

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Speaker 3: period of thirty three years.

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Speaker 1: We're back in the studio and you've just heard the

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Speaker 1: voice of Justice, Christopher Bill for the very first time.

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Speaker 1: He handed Aaron a sentence of life with a non

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Speaker 1: parole period of thirty three years. It was a big

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Speaker 1: day in court, Laura, wasn't it.

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Speaker 2: It really was. After more than two years, Erin has

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Speaker 2: finally learned her fate.

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Speaker 1: And what does this non parole period actually mean?

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Speaker 2: So when we speak about sentences, you can think of

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Speaker 2: a maximum and a minimum. So the maximum is how

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Speaker 2: long you will spend in prison. For Erin right now,

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Speaker 2: that's life. But then a minimum can be set by

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Speaker 2: judge to sort of offer an incentive to the criminal,

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Speaker 2: to say to them, if you behave well in prison,

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Speaker 2: if you try your hardest to rehabilitate, there's something for

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Speaker 2: you to work towards. For Aerin, that period is thirty

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Speaker 2: three years. She's already spent nearly two years behind bars.

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Speaker 2: So in thirty one years, which roughly takes us to

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Speaker 2: two thousand and fifty six, she'll be able to lodge

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Speaker 2: that application for parole, But that doesn't mean she gets

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Speaker 2: to be freed straight away. Her application will go to

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Speaker 2: the parole board and they will decide if she deserves

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Speaker 2: to be freed. If they reject her application, she goes

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Speaker 2: back to prison and she will never be released.

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Speaker 1: And I have to say, I was pretty surprised about

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Speaker 1: the thirty three years non parole period. What did you think?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd say the same. I was pretty surprised too.

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Speaker 2: If we do the math, by the time she's eligible

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Speaker 2: for parole, she'll be eighty two. While we heard a

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Speaker 2: lot during the trial about how Aaron said she had

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Speaker 2: certain health issues, largely speaking, she seems to be of

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Speaker 2: okay health. So there is a chance that when this

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Speaker 2: non parole period ends, she will be alive and she

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Speaker 2: can lodge that application. And I couldn't help think today

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Speaker 2: of some of the other high profile murderers that have

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Speaker 2: been sentenced in Victoria and the sorts of sentences they've received.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, how does it compare to others?

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Speaker 2: At Dame Phyllis Frost's Center, there is a convicted terrorist

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Speaker 2: called Momenta Shoma. She's currently serving a forty eight year

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Speaker 2: sentence and her non parole period is thirty six years,

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Speaker 2: so a little bit higher than Erin's. She was convicted

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Speaker 2: of a terrorism offense, but then in prison actually attacked

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Speaker 2: another inmate, so extra jail time was added onto a sentence.

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Speaker 2: But when we turn to the men, we have another

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Speaker 2: triple murderer here in Victoria called Robert Farquerssen. He was

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Speaker 2: convicted of murdering his three sons by driving their car

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Speaker 2: into a dam, and very similarly, just like Erin, he

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Speaker 2: was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non parole period

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Speaker 2: of thirty three years, so that is very on par

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Speaker 2: But there are also murderers who have received higher non

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Speaker 2: parole periods. Our listeners may remember the horrific murder of

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Speaker 2: Jill mar She was raped and killed by Adrian Bailey.

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Speaker 2: He was also sentenced to life imprisonment, but his non

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Speaker 2: parole period is thirty five years. Similarly to him the

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Speaker 2: murderer of Eurydice Dixon James Todd. He too was sentenced

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Speaker 2: to a non parole period of thirty five years. Finally,

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Speaker 2: I mentioned James Gargasaulis, the Burke Street driver. He was

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Speaker 2: found guilty of six counts of murder for his senseless

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Speaker 2: decision to drive a car at pedestrians in the heart

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Speaker 2: of Melbourne. He was also sentenced to life imprisonment, but

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Speaker 2: his non parole period is a whopping forty six years,

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Speaker 2: so you really can see that there is this range.

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Speaker 2: And Justice Bil did speak quite a lot today about

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Speaker 2: how this is a balancing act and there are many

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Speaker 2: considerations he has to take into account when coming to

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Speaker 2: a decision on sentence.

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Speaker 1: And at the end of this episode we will play

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Speaker 1: his decision in full. But Laura, what did Justice Bill

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Speaker 1: say about this case in particular?

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Speaker 2: One of the first things he said at the top

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Speaker 2: was that he was not going to speculate about why

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Speaker 2: Aaron chose to do what she did. He then started

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Speaker 2: recounting the evidence, really going back over that narrative we've

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Speaker 2: spoken about many times previously, but along the way he

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Speaker 2: was making certain factual findings. And today he did say

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Speaker 2: that he accepted Ian's evidence that Aaron served the guest

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Speaker 2: meals on four gray plates and served her own on

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Speaker 2: a smaller orange plate, and he said that she did

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Speaker 2: that to ensure she did not mistakenly consume a poisoned meal.

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Speaker 2: He also accepted Ian's evidence that at the conclusion of

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Speaker 2: the lunch she did falsely tell the guests that she

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Speaker 2: had been diagnosed with cancer and that she wanted their advice.

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Speaker 2: He said that her crimes demonstrated substantial premeditation and that

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Speaker 2: it really did seem that she had no pity for

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Speaker 2: her victims at all. He actually said to Aaron that

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Speaker 2: she could have informed the doctors that forage mushrooms were

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Speaker 2: in the meal without having to admit that she included

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Speaker 2: them deliberately. He said that we will never know whether

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Speaker 2: that sort of revelation would have made a difference. He

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Speaker 2: said her offending involved an enormous betrayal of trust, and

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Speaker 2: that her crimes harmed a great many people, including her

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Speaker 2: two own children, who she inflicted untold suffering upon by

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Speaker 2: robbing them of their grandparents.

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Speaker 1: So Justice Bill said damning things about Aaron. Why then

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Speaker 1: did he set a minimum?

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Speaker 2: That's a great question, And he did walk the court

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Speaker 2: through that today, and he touched on a lot of

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Speaker 2: things that we heard in the pre sentence hearing a

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Speaker 2: fortnight ago. He said at Dame Phyllis Erin has been

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Speaker 2: given a major offender status because she's considered to be

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Speaker 2: at risk from other prisoners. She's currently in the Gordon

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Speaker 2: unit there and this is one of the most restrictive

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Speaker 2: areas of the prison. She spends at least twenty two

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Speaker 2: hours a day in her cell, and one of the

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Speaker 2: only people she's allowed to communicate with is the convicted

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Speaker 2: terrorist we mentioned earlier. He said that he considers Erin

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Speaker 2: a notorious prisoner and told the court that he believes

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Speaker 2: that there's a substantial chance she will be held in

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Speaker 2: this unit for years, if not decades, given that notoriety.

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Speaker 2: He said this was an important consideration he had to

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Speaker 2: take into account and ultimately that was the main reason

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Speaker 2: why she was given a non parole period.

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Speaker 1: Now, the prosecution and the defense wanted two different things,

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Speaker 1: and it seemed as though Justice Bill cited more with

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Speaker 1: the defense. Is that right, Yeah, he did. To remind

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Speaker 1: our listeners, the prosecution were calling for Erin to be

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Speaker 1: sentenced to life without parole, which means she would die

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Speaker 1: behind bars because she would never have an opportunity to

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Speaker 1: apply for parole. But on the other hand, the defense

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Speaker 1: said that she should have that opportunity. If Erin was

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Speaker 1: actually sentenced today to life without parole, it would have

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Speaker 1: been pretty historic In Australia, there has only been one

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Speaker 1: other woman sentenced to such a term, and that was

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Speaker 1: Catherine Knight in New South Wales. For context, she murdered

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Speaker 1: her partner John Price in two thousand before skinning his body,

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Speaker 1: decapitating him and then cooking his head with the plan

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Speaker 1: to serve that meal to his children. A judge in

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Speaker 1: her case actually described it as offending that was almost

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Speaker 1: unthinkable in a civilized society. But as we've just touched upon,

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Speaker 1: Justice Bihal didn't believe Erin deserved the same sort of sentence.

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Speaker 1: And what did Justice Bell say about Ian will Conson

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Speaker 1: In particular, he.

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Speaker 2: Did touch upon the victim impact statements and actually read

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Speaker 2: his words back to Erin. It was the passage where

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Speaker 2: Ian offered his forgiveness to Erin. Justice Biale said to her,

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Speaker 2: you would do well to embrace it in the manner

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Speaker 2: he suggests.

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Speaker 1: And Ian was actually in court today, wasn't he.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, he was, and he was surrounded by family like

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Speaker 2: he has been. But again no sighting of Simon Patterson,

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Speaker 2: Erin's estranged husband.

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Speaker 1: And there was multiple members of the public that were

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Speaker 1: also viewing the proceedings as well.

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Speaker 2: Yes, It was a packed courtroom, that's for sure. We

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Speaker 2: were all kind of crammed in in the media section.

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Speaker 2: There were some people that wanted to watch the sentence

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Speaker 2: in the courtroom for themselves, so many more people were

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Speaker 2: given the opportunity to hear directly from Justice Beale thanks

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Speaker 2: to the live stream.

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Speaker 1: Yes, we could see the cameras set up behind Aaron.

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Speaker 1: Aaron didn't show a lot of emotion throughout the sentencing.

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Speaker 1: She actually had her eyes shut for majority of it.

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Speaker 2: And that was only something we could see in court.

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Speaker 2: The live stream footage was just on Justice Beal, but

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Speaker 2: there really wasn't much emotion at all from her, like

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Speaker 2: you just said, Brook. But at the same time, there

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Speaker 2: wasn't any emotion from her on the verdict, and there

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Speaker 2: wasn't much emotion either when the victims were reading out

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Speaker 2: their statements.

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Speaker 1: Now Ian actually gave a statement outside of court. This

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Speaker 1: is the first time that he has publicly spoken since

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Speaker 1: Aaron was convicted, and he thanked Victoria Police, the Office

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Speaker 1: of Public Prosecutions, and also Health Services. Here's what he said,

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Speaker 1: good morning.

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Speaker 4: I'll not be taking any questions or making any further

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Speaker 4: comments apart from this statement. My purpose here today is

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Speaker 4: to give some well earned thanks, firstly to Victoria Police,

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Speaker 4: in particular the homicide Squad and the team led by

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Speaker 4: Detective Stephen Eppingstall. They made a professional, efficient and effective

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Speaker 4: investigation into what happened at the lunch. They brought to

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Speaker 4: light the truth of what happened with the death of

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Speaker 4: three good people. We're grateful for their skills that brought

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Speaker 4: this truth to light, and I'm also very grateful for

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Speaker 4: the kindness and compassion they showed us me and my

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Speaker 4: family throughout the long process that has brought us to

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Speaker 4: this day. They've done a wonderful job. I'd like to

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Speaker 4: extend gratitude too, to a team from the Office of

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Speaker 4: the Office of Public Prosecutions, led by Senior Counsel Nneff Rogers.

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Speaker 4: The court processes are a little bewildering to lay people

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Speaker 4: like me, and we're grateful for their expertise, their hard work,

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Speaker 4: and their perseverance that has secured this conviction. I'd also

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Speaker 4: like to commend them for their kindness and compassion showed

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Speaker 4: to us throughout this long process. They have also done

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Speaker 4: a wonderful job. We're also grateful for the staff of

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Speaker 4: the various public health services that played an important role

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Speaker 4: in dealing with the aftermath of the lunch. There are

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Speaker 4: so many services and agencies and people involved that I

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Speaker 4: can't start naming names, but please each one accept my

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Speaker 4: sincere gratitude for the part that you have played in

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Speaker 4: this process. We're thankful that when things go wrong there

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Speaker 4: are good people and services and systems available to help

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Speaker 4: us recover. I'd like to encourage all those involved to

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Speaker 4: keep turning up and serving others. Our lives and the

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Speaker 4: life of our community depends on the kindness of others.

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Speaker 4: I'd like to encourage everybody to be kind to each other. Finally,

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Speaker 4: I want to say thank you to the many people

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Speaker 4: from across Australia and around the world who, through their

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Speaker 4: prayers and messages of support, have encouraged us. I think

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Speaker 4: the people of the Leaning Gather and Carumborough communities in particular,

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Speaker 4: your thoughtfulness and care has been a great encouragement to us.

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Speaker 4: That's all I wish to say for now. Please respect

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Speaker 4: our privacy as we continue to breathe and heal. Thank

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Speaker 4: you for listening. I hope you all have a great day.

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Speaker 1: So now, Laura, where do we go from here?

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Speaker 2: So the clock starts running. Erin has twenty eight days

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Speaker 2: to lodge an appeal, and this could either be an

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Speaker 2: appeal against her conviction. She could argue that the jury

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Speaker 2: got it wrong and she should be given a retrial,

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Speaker 2: or she can lodge an appeal against her sentence.

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Speaker 1: And what does an appeal look like then.

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Speaker 2: So we'd leave the Supreme Court and go up to

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Speaker 2: the Court of Appeal and this is where a lot

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Speaker 2: of legal argument would be taking place. It would be

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Speaker 2: heard before three new judges and it would be up

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Speaker 2: to Erin's defense team to put forward grounds of appeal

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Speaker 2: that they say would justify a retrial. Those three judges

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Speaker 2: would then come back with their decision, and if they

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Speaker 2: agree that Erin should have a retrial for whatever reason,

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Speaker 2: we pretty much do this whole thing again. A new

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Speaker 2: jury would be impaneled and the evidence would once again

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Speaker 2: be presented to that jury. They'd then deliver their verdicts

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Speaker 2: and if it is once again a verdict of guilty,

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Speaker 2: then Erin would be sentenced for a second time.

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Speaker 1: So we'll wait to see if the appeal process actually happens,

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Speaker 1: but for now we'll leave you with Justice Bill's sentence

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Speaker 1: just a warning it does go for about forty minutes,

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Speaker 1: and because he did deliver it live on TV, we

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Speaker 1: will not be censoring it.

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Speaker 3: Erin Patterson, after a long trial during which you gave

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Speaker 3: evidence that the poisoning of your four lunch guests on

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Speaker 3: the twenty ninth of July was an accident, the jury

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Speaker 3: found you guilty of three counts of murder and one

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Speaker 3: count of attempted murder.

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Speaker 5: In other words, the.

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Speaker 3: Jury necessarily found that you deliberately served poison meal to

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Speaker 3: Gail and Don Patterson and Heather and Ian Wilkinson, and

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Speaker 3: that you did so intending to kill them. Only Ian

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Speaker 3: Wilkinson survived. The maximum penalty for murder is life imprisonment,

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Speaker 3: and for attempted murder twenty five years imprisonment. Murder is

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Speaker 3: also a standard sentence offense, and the standard sentence offense

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Speaker 3: for murder is twenty five years imprisonment. The prosecution submits,

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Speaker 3: and your Council concedes, that your offending falls into the

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Speaker 3: worst category of offending for these offenses, and that you

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00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:41,200
Speaker 3: should receive the maximum penalties for your crimes. I agree

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Speaker 3: for reasons that I will come to in due course.

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Speaker 3: The prosecution also submits that, having regard to the horrendous

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Speaker 3: nature of your crimes, I should not fix a non

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Speaker 3: parole period. In other words, the prosecution submits that you

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Speaker 3: should never have the opportunity of being being released from

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Speaker 3: prison on parole. Your council challenged this submission, relying principally

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Speaker 3: on the harsher than usual conditions of your imprisonment, which

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Speaker 3: both sides agree are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

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Speaker 3: Whether or not to fixate non parole period is the

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Speaker 3: main dispute which I have to determine. These sentencing reasons

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00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:31,760
Speaker 3: consists of four parts. First, the circumstances of the offenses,

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Speaker 3: second your circumstances, third relevant sentencing law, and fourth the

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Speaker 3: actual sentences. It is convenient at this stage to mention

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Speaker 3: one aspect of sentencing law. Where the prosecution alleges circumstances

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Speaker 3: that aggravate your offending, the prosecution must prove those circumstances

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Speaker 3: beyond reasonable doubt. Where the defense alleges circumstances of mitigation,

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Speaker 3: the defense must prove those circumstances on the balance of probabilities.

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Speaker 3: Just before I turned to the circumstances of your offenses,

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Speaker 3: I note that at your trial, the prosecution conceded that

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Speaker 3: they could not prove motive.

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Speaker 5: As is standard. I directed the jury that the.

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Speaker 3: Prosecution did not have to prove motive, only the elements

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Speaker 3: of the offenses, and that quote, some murders occur for

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Speaker 3: no apparent reason. The motives for such murders may only

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00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:38,520
Speaker 3: ever be known to the offenders. Clearly, the jury was

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Speaker 3: satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that you committed the alleged offenses.

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Speaker 3: Only you know why you committed them. I will not

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Speaker 3: be speculating about that matter. I will begin my discussion

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00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,439
Speaker 3: of the circumstances of your offenses with the fact that

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Speaker 3: you were familiar with the Eye Naturalist website from at

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Speaker 3: least May twenty twenty two. That is a website on

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Speaker 3: which people can post and view sightings of death cap mushrooms,

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00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:11,560
Speaker 3: amongst other things. On the twenty eighth of May twenty two,

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00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:15,760
Speaker 3: you access the I Naturalist website and navigated to its

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00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,320
Speaker 3: worldwide map in relation to sightings of death cap mushrooms.

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00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,240
Speaker 3: Using that map, you accessed information concerning the sighting of

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Speaker 3: death cap mushrooms in Morabin, a suburb of Melbourne. In

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00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,120
Speaker 3: late twenty two, a dispute arose between you and your

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Speaker 3: estranged husband, Simon Patterson, regarding child support payments for your

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00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:42,040
Speaker 3: two young children who lived with you. In December twenty two,

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Speaker 3: you referred to that dispute in your communications with a

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Speaker 3: Facebook messenger group with whom you shared an interest in

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Speaker 3: true crime. You were scathing in your remarks about both

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Speaker 3: Simon and his parents, Don Gale Patterson.

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Speaker 5: Amongst other things, you.

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Speaker 3: Derided your father in law's suggestion that you and Simon

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Speaker 3: get together and pray for your children, commenting quote this family,

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Speaker 3: I swear to fucking God.

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Speaker 5: You called them quote a lost cause.

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Speaker 3: You wondered whether they had quote any capacity for self

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Speaker 3: reflection at all. You said quote fuck him, and that

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Speaker 3: you suspect, suspected the best thing you could do was

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Speaker 3: quote just to forget about all of them and live

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Speaker 3: your life. You accuse Simon of quote gaslighting you, and

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Speaker 3: Don and Gale of using quote weasel words. You called

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Speaker 3: Simon quote a deadbeat and wondered why Gail was not

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Speaker 3: quote horrified by his stance regarding child support. According to

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Speaker 3: your testimony a trial, and to a lesser extent, Simon's testimony,

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00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,679
Speaker 3: the dispute over child support had resolved by early twenty

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Speaker 3: three on the eighteenth of April twenty three, one, Christine Mackenzie,

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00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,960
Speaker 3: a former poison specialist, was visiting her daughter in Locke,

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00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,480
Speaker 3: which is a small town about a twenty five minute

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Speaker 3: drive northwest of Lean Gathera where you lived. Miss Mackenzie

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00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:22,000
Speaker 3: observed death cap mushrooms in Locke Reserve and posted details

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Speaker 3: of her observations, including photographs, on the Eye Naturalist's website.

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00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,440
Speaker 3: The same day, Miss Mackenzie disposed of all the death

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00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,000
Speaker 3: cap mushrooms that she could find because of the danger

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00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:37,520
Speaker 3: she thought they posed, especially to young children. On the

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00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,240
Speaker 3: morning of the twenty eighth of April twenty three, your

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00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,800
Speaker 3: mobile phone, which was never recovered by investigators, connected to

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00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,159
Speaker 3: certain cell towers, consistent with a possible visit by you

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00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:53,240
Speaker 3: to the Lock Reserve that afternoon. You purchased a food

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00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:59,240
Speaker 3: dehydrator in Lean Gather. Between the twenty eighth of April

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00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,480
Speaker 3: and the fourth of May three, you photographed forage mushrooms

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00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:07,760
Speaker 3: on the trays of your dehydrator. The images were found

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00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,399
Speaker 3: by investigators on a Samsung tablet later seized from your home.

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00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:17,000
Speaker 3: Doctor Tom May, a world renowned expert in fungi, gave

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00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:20,080
Speaker 3: evidence at your trial that those images were quote consistent

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00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:22,919
Speaker 3: with death cap mushrooms to a high degree of confidence.

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00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,640
Speaker 3: On the twenty first of May twenty three, doctor May

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00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:33,280
Speaker 3: observed death cap mushrooms in Nilsen Street, Outram. Outram is

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Speaker 3: a small town about a twenty three minute drive southwest

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Speaker 3: of Lean Gathera. Later that day, doctor May posted details

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00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:47,480
Speaker 3: of his observations, including photographs, on the I Naturalist website.

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00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,040
Speaker 3: On the morning of the twenty second of May twenty three,

353
00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:53,879
Speaker 3: your phone connected to certain cell towers, consistent with a

354
00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:58,160
Speaker 3: possible visit by you to Locke Reserve. Later that morning,

355
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,399
Speaker 3: your phone connected to certain cell town hours, consistent with

356
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Speaker 3: a possible visit by you to Nilsen.

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Speaker 5: Street, Outram.

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00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 3: On the twenty fourth of June twenty three, you hosted

359
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:12,960
Speaker 3: a lunch at your Lee and Gather home, attended by

360
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,679
Speaker 3: Don and Gail and your children. You had invited Simon

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00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,040
Speaker 3: to that lunch, but he declined, saying in a text

362
00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:23,040
Speaker 3: message quote, Hi Erin, thank you for your kind lunch

363
00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:26,359
Speaker 3: invite together with mum and Dad. I'm sorry I'll decline

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00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:32,560
Speaker 3: as I feel too uncomfortable about it. Between the twenty

365
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,320
Speaker 3: eighth of June and the seventh of July twenty three,

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00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,560
Speaker 3: there were a series of messages between you and Gale

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00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:42,479
Speaker 3: in which you falsely represented that you had undergone a

368
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,959
Speaker 3: needle biopsy for a lump in your arm and an MRI.

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00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:50,600
Speaker 3: In response to a message from Gail as to how

370
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,200
Speaker 3: you got on with your medical test, you messaged her

371
00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,600
Speaker 3: on the seventh of July twenty three that quote, there's

372
00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:00,040
Speaker 3: a bit to digest with everything that's come out of it.

373
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,360
Speaker 3: I might talk more about it with you both when

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Speaker 3: I see you in person. On the sixteenth of July

375
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,520
Speaker 3: twenty three, you attended the Sunday service at the Corumborough

376
00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:16,000
Speaker 3: Baptist Church, where Ian Wilkinson was and is the pastor.

377
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,600
Speaker 3: After the service, you invited Gail and Don Patterson and

378
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:23,119
Speaker 3: Heather and Ian Wilkinson to lunch at your home at

379
00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:25,359
Speaker 3: Gibson Street, Lee and Gatha on the twenty ninth of

380
00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:30,240
Speaker 3: July twenty three. Both the Pattersons and the Wilkinsons were

381
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:34,679
Speaker 3: surprised by the invitation, as the Wilkinsons had never previously

382
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:38,399
Speaker 3: been invited to a meal at your home. You also

383
00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:42,160
Speaker 3: invited Simon, telling him that you had invited his parents

384
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,800
Speaker 3: and his aunt and uncle. You told him you had

385
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,160
Speaker 3: some important medical news which you wanted to discuss at

386
00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:51,919
Speaker 3: the lunch, and that you did not want the children

387
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:58,160
Speaker 3: to be present. Simon initially accepted your invitation and informed

388
00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,000
Speaker 3: his parents that the purpose of the love was to

389
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,280
Speaker 3: discuss your medical issues and how to inform the children.

390
00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,520
Speaker 3: On the evening of the twenty eighth of July twenty three,

391
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:15,800
Speaker 3: Simon and you exchanged messages. Simon's read quote, Sorry, I

392
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,240
Speaker 3: feel too uncomfortable about coming to the lunch with you, Mum, Dad,

393
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:22,560
Speaker 3: Heather and Ian tomorrow, but I am happy to talk

394
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,320
Speaker 3: about your health and implications of that at another time.

395
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,240
Speaker 3: If you'd like to discuss on the phone, just let

396
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:36,920
Speaker 3: me know, you replied five minutes later, quote, that's really disappointing.

397
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,600
Speaker 3: I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow,

398
00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 3: which has been exhausting in light of the issues I'm facing,

399
00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,280
Speaker 3: and spent a small fortune on beef ive Phillip to

400
00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:50,359
Speaker 3: make beef Wellington's because I wanted it to be a

401
00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,240
Speaker 3: special meal, as I may not be able to host

402
00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:57,240
Speaker 3: a lunch like this again for some time. It's important

403
00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,040
Speaker 3: to me that you're all there tomorrow and that I

404
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,960
Speaker 3: have the conversations that I need to have. I hope

405
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,440
Speaker 3: you'll change your mind. Your parents and Heather and Ian

406
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,400
Speaker 3: are coming at twelve thirty. I hope to see you there.

407
00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,000
Speaker 3: On Saturday, the twenty ninth of July twenty three, you

408
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:20,720
Speaker 3: served your four lunch guests individual beef Wellington's, which were

409
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:25,480
Speaker 3: deliberately poisoned with death cap mushrooms. You gave evidence at

410
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,200
Speaker 3: your trial that had Simon attended the lunch, you would

411
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,399
Speaker 3: also have served him a beef Wellington. I accept the

412
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:36,520
Speaker 3: evidence of Ian Wilkinson that you served your guests their

413
00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:41,080
Speaker 3: meals on four gray plates, while your individual beef Wellington

414
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,800
Speaker 3: was on a smaller orangey tan colored plate, a fact

415
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,119
Speaker 3: that Heather also commented on to Ian and Simon the

416
00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:52,560
Speaker 3: next day. I find that you did this to ensure

417
00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:57,399
Speaker 3: that you did not mistakenly consume a poisoned meal. I

418
00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,720
Speaker 3: also accept the evidence of Ian Wilkinson that at the

419
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:04,080
Speaker 3: conclusion of the meal, you falsely told your guests that

420
00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,920
Speaker 3: you had been diagnosed with cancer and sought their advice

421
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,320
Speaker 3: as to whether and how you should break the news

422
00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:14,200
Speaker 3: to your children that you had a life threatening illness.

423
00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:20,320
Speaker 3: Not long after this conversation started, your son and his friend,

424
00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:24,679
Speaker 3: who had gone to a movie, returned home. The conversation

425
00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:29,240
Speaker 3: about cancer ceased, but not before all your lunch guests,

426
00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:35,400
Speaker 3: at Ian's suggestion, prayed for your health soon after they left.

427
00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,480
Speaker 3: Around midnight to one a m on Sunday, the thirtieth

428
00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,720
Speaker 3: of July twenty three, all of your lunch guests fell

429
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:47,520
Speaker 3: seriously ill, suffering repeated vomiting and diarrhea. On Sunday morning,

430
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:50,760
Speaker 3: Gale and Donn informed Simon of their conditions and called

431
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:56,520
Speaker 3: an ambulance, which took them to nearby Crumborough Hospital. Simon

432
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:59,440
Speaker 3: attended the Wilkinsons home to find that Heather and Ian

433
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:04,320
Speaker 3: was similar unwell. He took them first to Corumborough Hospital,

434
00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,320
Speaker 3: but was redirected to Lean Gather Hospital.

435
00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:08,520
Speaker 5: Because of limited resources.

436
00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:12,639
Speaker 3: By way of contrast, you made a round trip of

437
00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,680
Speaker 3: approximately two hours on Sunday afternoon to take your son

438
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:20,439
Speaker 3: to a flying lesson at Tiab. By the Sunday evening,

439
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:24,639
Speaker 3: Don and Gale had been transferred to Dandenong Hospital. On

440
00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,800
Speaker 3: the morning of Monday, the thirty first of July twenty three,

441
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:32,879
Speaker 3: Ian and Heather were also transferred to Dandenong Hospital. Later

442
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:37,119
Speaker 3: that day, Gail and Don were transferred to the Austin Hospital,

443
00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,639
Speaker 3: as were Heather and Ian on Tuesday, the first of

444
00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:45,240
Speaker 3: August twenty three. All of them were experiencing advanced multiple

445
00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:50,720
Speaker 3: organ failure. Having learned from Simon on the Sunday that

446
00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:54,680
Speaker 3: your parents in law had been hospitalized, you attended Leanngather

447
00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 3: Hospital on the Monday, complaining of diarrhea.

448
00:27:58,440 --> 00:27:59,480
Speaker 5: You did not stay long.

449
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:03,000
Speaker 3: Shortly after a doctor indicated to you that death cap

450
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:07,760
Speaker 3: mushroom poisoning was suspected, you left, despite warnings by another

451
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:11,480
Speaker 3: doctor and nurse that your life was in danger. You

452
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:16,760
Speaker 3: returned over an hour and a half later. When you returned,

453
00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:20,520
Speaker 3: you showed reluctance to receive treatment for suspected death cap

454
00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,440
Speaker 3: mushroom poisoning and to organize a medical.

455
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,439
Speaker 5: Assessment for your children who were at school.

456
00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,560
Speaker 3: Medical staff were urging you to have the children assessed

457
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,000
Speaker 3: because you claimed falsely that on the Sunday night you

458
00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,840
Speaker 3: fed them the leftovers of the beef wellingtons with the

459
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:40,200
Speaker 3: pastry and mushrooms scraped off. Eventually, you arranged with Simon

460
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:43,720
Speaker 3: to collect the children and bring them to hospital. On

461
00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,120
Speaker 3: the Monday morning, police recovered beef wellington remains from a

462
00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:50,200
Speaker 3: bin outside your home, which were later found to contain

463
00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:55,600
Speaker 3: death cap mushroom toxins. On the Monday afternoon, you were

464
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,120
Speaker 3: transferred to Monash Medical Center in Clayton. Simon brought the

465
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:02,440
Speaker 3: children there. You and the children were kept in hospital

466
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:07,360
Speaker 3: overnight for observation. At both Lee and Gatha Hospital and

467
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:11,360
Speaker 3: Monash Medical Center, you were asked by various people, including

468
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,680
Speaker 3: doctors and representatives of the Health Department and the Child

469
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:18,040
Speaker 3: Protection Service, where you would source the mushrooms for the

470
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:18,920
Speaker 3: beef wellingtons.

471
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:21,840
Speaker 5: You said you would purchase some fresh.

472
00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:25,840
Speaker 3: Mushrooms at Woolworth's and some dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery.

473
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,280
Speaker 3: You were vague about the location of the Asian grocery,

474
00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,840
Speaker 3: claiming you would purchase the dried mushrooms several months before

475
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,080
Speaker 3: and that the shop could have been in one of

476
00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,000
Speaker 3: a number of suburbs that fall within the boundaries of

477
00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:42,040
Speaker 3: the city of Monash. You denied having forage for mushrooms,

478
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,320
Speaker 3: a lie repeated in your recorded police interview on the

479
00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:51,280
Speaker 3: fifth of August twenty three. At your trial, you maintained

480
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,440
Speaker 3: the story about having sourced some of the mushrooms from

481
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,840
Speaker 3: an Asian grocery, but testified that in May and June

482
00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:01,520
Speaker 3: of twenty three you had foraged for edible mushrooms in

483
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:06,520
Speaker 3: various places, including the Corumborough Botanical Gardens. You testified that

484
00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 3: you had dehydrated these mushrooms and put them in a

485
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:14,120
Speaker 3: container which contained the dried mushrooms from the Asian Grocery,

486
00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,640
Speaker 3: and that you used the dried mushrooms in that container

487
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,920
Speaker 3: along with the fresh mushrooms from Woolworths in the beef Wellingtons.

488
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:27,680
Speaker 3: You testified that in this way, death cap mushrooms must

489
00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,760
Speaker 3: have accidentally found their way into the meals served to

490
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:36,680
Speaker 3: your lunch guests. The jury rejected this elaborate explanation. They

491
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:40,200
Speaker 3: found that you deliberately poisoned the meals of your lunch guess.

492
00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:44,640
Speaker 3: I am satisfied that your vague story about the Asian

493
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:48,680
Speaker 3: grocery was a lie. When you realized that their lie

494
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:52,440
Speaker 3: would not work because death cap mushrooms cannot be cultivated

495
00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:56,200
Speaker 3: commercially and there were no other reports of people falling

496
00:30:56,280 --> 00:31:01,000
Speaker 3: ill from mushrooms purchased at Asian groceries, you changed tack.

497
00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:05,280
Speaker 3: You concocted the story you told the jury about foraged

498
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,800
Speaker 3: mushrooms ending up in the container with the Asian grocery

499
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:12,960
Speaker 3: mushrooms and then accidentally ending up in the beef wellingtons.

500
00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,000
Speaker 3: On the afternoon of Tuesday, the first of August twenty three,

501
00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:22,320
Speaker 3: you and the children were discharged from Monash Hospital. On

502
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:24,920
Speaker 3: the morning of the second of August twenty three, you

503
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,160
Speaker 3: disposed of your dehydrator at a local tip, the Kunwara

504
00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:30,080
Speaker 3: transfer station.

505
00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:32,680
Speaker 5: On the fourth of August.

506
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:37,920
Speaker 3: Twenty three, investigators recovered your dehydrator from the tip. Forensic

507
00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:42,880
Speaker 3: examination revealed that the dehydrator contained traces of death cap mushrooms.

508
00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,400
Speaker 3: That same day, fourth of August twenty three, Heather Wilkinson,

509
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:53,640
Speaker 3: aged sixty six, and Gale Patterson, aged seventy, died from

510
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:58,080
Speaker 3: Deathcap mushroom poisoning, and Don Patterson, who was desperately ill,

511
00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:02,240
Speaker 3: was given a liver transplant. On the fifth of August

512
00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:05,640
Speaker 3: twenty three, the police executed a search warrant at your home.

513
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,960
Speaker 3: You handed over a dummy phone. It was not the

514
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,600
Speaker 3: phone that you had been using throughout most of twenty three.

515
00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:14,000
Speaker 3: The phone which on the twenty eighth of April twenty

516
00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,880
Speaker 3: three had connected to certain cell towers indicating a possible

517
00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,520
Speaker 3: visit to Locke, and which on the twenty second of

518
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:24,920
Speaker 3: May twenty three, had connected to certain cell towers, indicating

519
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:30,840
Speaker 3: possible visits to Locke and Outram. In your recorded interview

520
00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:34,880
Speaker 3: following the search, you denied having foraged for mushrooms and

521
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:39,760
Speaker 3: denied owning a dehydrator. Late on the fifth of August

522
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:44,040
Speaker 3: twenty three, Don Patterson, aged seventy, died from death cap

523
00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:50,239
Speaker 3: mushroom poisoning. Ian Wilkinson very nearly died, but gradually his

524
00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:53,880
Speaker 3: condition improved. On the twenty first of August twenty three,

525
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,480
Speaker 3: he was discharged from the intensive care unit to a

526
00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:00,000
Speaker 3: ward at the Austin Hospital. On the eleventh of September

527
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,720
Speaker 3: twenty three, he was moved to the Hardelberg Repatriation Hospital.

528
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,520
Speaker 3: On the twenty first of September twenty three, he was

529
00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:11,920
Speaker 3: discharged home. He has not fully recovered. He has reduced

530
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:18,680
Speaker 3: kidney function, ongoing respiratory issues, and reduced energy. On the

531
00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:22,960
Speaker 3: second of November twenty three, the police executed another search

532
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,960
Speaker 3: warrant at your home, seizing more electrical devices. You were

533
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:30,400
Speaker 3: arrested and charged. You have been in custody ever since.

534
00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:37,280
Speaker 3: Let me now summarize the aggravating circumstances of your offending.

535
00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:42,280
Speaker 3: Your offending which resulted in the death of three people

536
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:48,120
Speaker 3: and near death of another, involved substantial premeditation. I am

537
00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:51,360
Speaker 3: satisfied that by the sixteenth of July twenty three, when

538
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,840
Speaker 3: you unusually invited Simon, his parents, and his aunt and

539
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,800
Speaker 3: uncle to a lunch without the children to discuss your

540
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:03,880
Speaker 3: on existent medical issues, you did so with the intention

541
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:08,279
Speaker 3: of killing them all. The dehydrator, which you purchased in

542
00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:12,360
Speaker 3: late twenty three late April twenty three enabled you to

543
00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:16,200
Speaker 3: preserve death cap mushrooms, which you put into the individual

544
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:18,280
Speaker 3: beef Wellington's served to your guests.

545
00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:20,920
Speaker 5: Whether those death.

546
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:23,279
Speaker 3: Cap mushrooms came from Locke on the twenty eighth of

547
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:26,920
Speaker 3: April twenty three, or from Locke or Outram on the

548
00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:30,320
Speaker 3: twenty second of May twenty three, or from another location

549
00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:33,960
Speaker 3: in May or June of twenty three, as you suggested

550
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:37,280
Speaker 3: in your testimony, is in my view of no great moment.

551
00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:43,279
Speaker 3: After learning from Simon on Sunday the thirtieth of July

552
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:45,760
Speaker 3: twenty three, that some or all of your lunch guests

553
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:49,840
Speaker 3: had been hospitalized, you showed no pity for your victims.

554
00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:54,759
Speaker 3: Instead of informing those treating the Pattersons and Wilkinsons that

555
00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:58,759
Speaker 3: you had used forage mushrooms, which you could have done

556
00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:02,880
Speaker 3: without having to admit that you had deliberately poisoned their meals.

557
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:08,200
Speaker 3: You repeatedly denied foraging, insisting that the mushrooms for the

558
00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:12,560
Speaker 3: beef wellingtons were sourced solely from Woolworth's.

559
00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:14,360
Speaker 5: And an Asian grocery.

560
00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:17,640
Speaker 3: We will never know whether revealing the use of foraged

561
00:35:17,719 --> 00:35:21,840
Speaker 3: mushrooms would have made a difference. But the administration of

562
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:26,439
Speaker 3: the drug silibinin, which is a specific antidote for death

563
00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,800
Speaker 3: cap mushroom poisoning, was not commenced on the thirtieth of

564
00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:33,320
Speaker 3: July twenty three because at that stage the evidence regarding

565
00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:38,239
Speaker 3: the type of toxin was inconclusive. Similarly, the administration of

566
00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:42,680
Speaker 3: NAC to preserve the victim's livers from toxins was not

567
00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:45,920
Speaker 3: commenced until almost midnight on the thirtieth of July twenty

568
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,840
Speaker 3: three for Don Patterson and on the thirty first of

569
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:54,560
Speaker 3: July twenty three for the others. The prosecution submitted that

570
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:57,640
Speaker 3: I should infer from your pitiless behavior that your intention

571
00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:02,239
Speaker 3: to kill was ongoing, and that this constitutes an additional

572
00:36:02,239 --> 00:36:03,640
Speaker 3: aggravating circumstance.

573
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:09,040
Speaker 5: I accept that submission. As the Wilkinson's.

574
00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:12,799
Speaker 3: Daughter Ruth Dubois remarked in her victim impact statement, you

575
00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:20,720
Speaker 3: quote followed through on your lethal plan. Your lunch guests

576
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:24,640
Speaker 3: each suffered severe gastro intestinal illness on the Sunday and

577
00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:29,640
Speaker 3: Monday prior to being sedated and mechanically ventilated. Their suffering

578
00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:34,360
Speaker 3: was protracted, and Ian Wilkins suffers ongoing health issues.

579
00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:36,240
Speaker 5: This aggravates your offending.

580
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:41,879
Speaker 3: The prosecution submitted that you must have anticipated that your

581
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,399
Speaker 3: victims would suffer in the way they did. I am

582
00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:49,200
Speaker 3: satisfied of that beyond reasonable doubt, it is implausible that

583
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:53,239
Speaker 3: you would have selected death cap mushrooms without ascertaining how

584
00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:54,800
Speaker 3: they would work upon your victims.

585
00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:58,799
Speaker 5: Further, the devastating.

586
00:36:58,239 --> 00:37:01,760
Speaker 3: Impact of your crimes is not limited to your direct victims.

587
00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:05,640
Speaker 3: Your crimes have harmed a great many people. I will

588
00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:10,080
Speaker 3: expand on this aggravating circumstance. When I turned to the

589
00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:16,040
Speaker 3: victim impact statements. In addition to denying the use of

590
00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:19,960
Speaker 3: foraged mushrooms, you engaged in an elaborate cover up of

591
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,640
Speaker 3: your guilt. I find that you disposed of the four

592
00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,480
Speaker 3: grade plates on which you served the poison beef wellingtons

593
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,720
Speaker 3: you falsely made out that you had fed your children

594
00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:32,399
Speaker 3: left over beef Wellington's, with the pastry and mushrooms scraped off.

595
00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:36,959
Speaker 3: You feigned illness. You disposed of the dehydrator soon after

596
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,200
Speaker 3: you were released from a hospital. You maintained the vague

597
00:37:40,239 --> 00:37:44,120
Speaker 3: story about sourcing dried mushrooms at an Asian grocery, and

598
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:47,000
Speaker 3: had the gall to tell police in your recorded police

599
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:48,680
Speaker 3: interview that you had been.

600
00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:52,400
Speaker 5: Very, very helpful to the Health department in its investigation

601
00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:53,080
Speaker 5: of the incident.

602
00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:57,160
Speaker 3: You disposed of your phone and provided police with a

603
00:37:57,200 --> 00:37:59,720
Speaker 3: dummy farm. You lied to the police in your recorded

604
00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:06,120
Speaker 3: police interview about various matters. Finally, and most importantly, your

605
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:11,000
Speaker 3: offending involved an enormous betrayal of trust. Your victims were

606
00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:14,839
Speaker 3: all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had

607
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,480
Speaker 3: all been good to you and your children over many years,

608
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:21,840
Speaker 3: as you acknowledged in your testimony. Not only did you

609
00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:25,359
Speaker 3: cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian

610
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:31,040
Speaker 3: Wilkinson's health, thereby devastating the extended Patterson and Wilkinson families,

611
00:38:32,080 --> 00:38:35,719
Speaker 3: you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you

612
00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:44,120
Speaker 3: robbed of their beloved grandparents. The victim impacts statements reveal

613
00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:48,960
Speaker 3: the immense and ongoing anguish suffered by your many victims,

614
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:53,400
Speaker 3: direct and indirect. No summary could do justice to the

615
00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:58,640
Speaker 3: individual and collective power of those statements. It is not

616
00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:02,320
Speaker 3: my intention here to say summarize or refer to every statement,

617
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:09,400
Speaker 3: but rather to highlight some key aspects. Four generations of

618
00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:13,399
Speaker 3: the extended Pattison and Wilkinson families have been traumatized by

619
00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:19,360
Speaker 3: your crimes, not to mention their friends. Don's mother, Martha Patterson,

620
00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:22,560
Speaker 3: who is aged one hundred, made a victim impact statement.

621
00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:27,080
Speaker 3: In it, she prayed for God's healing for her family.

622
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:35,400
Speaker 3: Gail and Heather's father, now deceased, also reached his one

623
00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:38,879
Speaker 3: hundredth birthday in twenty twenty four, but tragically, only one

624
00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:41,600
Speaker 3: of his three daughters, Lynn Young, whose statement was read

625
00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:45,319
Speaker 3: to the court, was alive to mark that milestone with him.

626
00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:48,480
Speaker 3: And there are many references in the statements to the

627
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:54,440
Speaker 3: trauma experienced by the Patterson and Wilkinson grandchildren. Many of

628
00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:56,920
Speaker 3: your adult victims struggled not only with the loss of

629
00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:59,640
Speaker 3: their loved ones and the terrible way they died, but

630
00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:03,600
Speaker 3: with them distress, even guilt at their own seeming inability

631
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:05,600
Speaker 3: to ease the suffering of those close to them.

632
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,239
Speaker 5: They keenly feel their limitations, and.

633
00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:13,359
Speaker 3: In particular the impossibility of shielding the youngest from the

634
00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:17,080
Speaker 3: incessant discussion of the case in the media, online, in

635
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:21,920
Speaker 3: public spaces, even in the school yard. Many also struggle

636
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,680
Speaker 3: to cope with work and studies, and many have experienced

637
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:30,719
Speaker 3: additional financial burdens. There is, of course, great anger at

638
00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:34,080
Speaker 3: the callousness of your actions. To take just one example,

639
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:40,279
Speaker 3: Ian Wilkinson's sister Dorothy Dicker, questions, quote how anyone could

640
00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:43,680
Speaker 3: sit there and watch those four kind and caring people

641
00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:50,520
Speaker 3: eat that meal. Your failure to exhibit any remorse pours

642
00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:55,359
Speaker 3: salt into all the victim's wounds. The children of your

643
00:40:55,400 --> 00:40:58,400
Speaker 3: direct victims speak of the distress of watching their parents

644
00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:03,239
Speaker 3: suffer in hospital. For example, Donngale's son Matthew remarks, quote

645
00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:07,600
Speaker 3: watching my parents suffer in hospital from severe poisoning called shock,

646
00:41:07,719 --> 00:41:13,200
Speaker 3: grief and lasting trauma. Ian and Heather's son David, remembers

647
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:17,719
Speaker 3: his mother being quote desperate for water, which he was

648
00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:22,440
Speaker 3: not allowed by medical staff, and saying her quote insides

649
00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:28,880
Speaker 3: were burning. David also mentions his father's tortured experience quote

650
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:36,680
Speaker 3: black lips, gaunt, face, pained and serious expression. At your

651
00:41:36,719 --> 00:41:41,080
Speaker 3: plea hearing, Ian Wilkinson memorably read his victim impact statement

652
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:48,759
Speaker 3: to the court. Amongst other things, he humbly expressed his

653
00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:53,920
Speaker 3: great admiration and love for his wife, Heather, and his

654
00:41:54,120 --> 00:42:00,480
Speaker 3: concern for others, even you. He offered you forgiveness for

655
00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:04,880
Speaker 3: what you did to him. Quote in regards to the

656
00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:07,239
Speaker 3: many harms done to me, I make an offer of

657
00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:11,879
Speaker 3: forgiveness to Erin. I say harms done to me Advisedly,

658
00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:16,120
Speaker 3: I have no power or responsibility to forgive harms done

659
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:20,680
Speaker 3: to others. However, I encourage Erin to receive my offer

660
00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:24,160
Speaker 3: of forgiveness for those harms done to me, with full

661
00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:31,640
Speaker 3: confession and repentance. I bear her no ill will. That

662
00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:38,000
Speaker 3: offer of forgiveness presents you with an opportunity. You would

663
00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,920
Speaker 3: do well to embrace it in the manner he suggests.

664
00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:50,959
Speaker 3: In commenting on the unprecedented coverage of your case, Ian

665
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:56,000
Speaker 3: Wilkinson also made this point quote, It's one of the

666
00:42:56,040 --> 00:43:01,600
Speaker 3: distressing shortcoms shortcomings of our society, that so much attention

667
00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:04,200
Speaker 3: is showered on those who do evil.

668
00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:06,600
Speaker 5: And so little on those who do good.

669
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:13,680
Speaker 3: Your lunch guests undoubtedly belonged to that company of people

670
00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:15,000
Speaker 3: among us who do good.

671
00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:19,200
Speaker 5: The victim impact.

672
00:43:18,880 --> 00:43:22,479
Speaker 3: Statements make it clear that each one of them, over

673
00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:27,480
Speaker 3: many years, gave of themselves generously and made lasting contributions

674
00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:31,680
Speaker 3: to many many lives, and in Ian's case, continues.

675
00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:31,720
Speaker 5: To make.

676
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:38,040
Speaker 3: All of them, inspired by their Christian faith, were deeply

677
00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,799
Speaker 3: invested not only in their families but in their wider communities,

678
00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:46,520
Speaker 3: as the statements from members of the Currumborough Baptist Church attest.

679
00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:52,640
Speaker 3: A word that is used again and again in the

680
00:43:52,680 --> 00:44:01,120
Speaker 3: statements to describe your crimes is quote senseless. Also surfaces

681
00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:06,359
Speaker 3: in the statements is hope and gratitude for the care

682
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:12,720
Speaker 3: shown by others. Don and Gale's daughter Anna Terrington writes quote,

683
00:44:12,719 --> 00:44:14,920
Speaker 3: we have to say goodbye.

684
00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:17,359
Speaker 5: For now to Mum and Dad and Heather.

685
00:44:19,600 --> 00:44:23,080
Speaker 3: Don's brother Colin writes quote, As Christians, they were people

686
00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:26,440
Speaker 3: of hope and sharing that hope. My loss is not

687
00:44:26,560 --> 00:44:33,440
Speaker 3: one marked by despair. Ruth Dubais expresses her great appreciation

688
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,760
Speaker 3: for the efforts made and compassion shown by the medical teams.

689
00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:43,080
Speaker 3: Simon Patterson gives thanks quote for the incredibly strong, gentle

690
00:44:43,239 --> 00:44:48,399
Speaker 3: patient and caring support from friends, family, schools, our own

691
00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:53,280
Speaker 3: church congregation, the wider church, colleagues, work clients, neighbors, police,

692
00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:59,279
Speaker 3: government officers, and our professional counselors. We have experienced love

693
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:00,279
Speaker 3: in a special.

694
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:01,680
Speaker 5: Away since the murders.

695
00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:07,480
Speaker 3: I will conclude my account of key aspects of the

696
00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:11,520
Speaker 3: victim impact statements with what Donngale's son Matthew had to.

697
00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:14,759
Speaker 5: Say about your betrayal of trust. Quote.

698
00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:19,120
Speaker 3: Erin was embraced as part of the Patterson family. She

699
00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:22,520
Speaker 3: was welcome and treated with genuine love and respect in

700
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,080
Speaker 3: a way she did not appear to experience from her

701
00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:30,759
Speaker 3: own family. Her actions represent a profound and devastating betrayal

702
00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:37,480
Speaker 3: of the trust and love extended to her. Having regard

703
00:45:37,480 --> 00:45:40,560
Speaker 3: to the aggravating circumstances of your offending and the victim

704
00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:44,440
Speaker 3: impact statements, I have no hesitation in finding that your

705
00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:47,239
Speaker 3: offending falls into the worst category for the offenses of

706
00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:51,480
Speaker 3: murder and attempted murder, as the case law makes clear.

707
00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:54,239
Speaker 3: The fact that it is possible to imagine even worse

708
00:45:54,800 --> 00:46:00,880
Speaker 3: instances of such offenses does not refute that categorization. The

709
00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:04,080
Speaker 3: gravity of your offending warrants the imposition of the maximum

710
00:46:04,080 --> 00:46:09,200
Speaker 3: penalties for your crimes. I turned then to your circumstances.

711
00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:14,240
Speaker 3: The information I was provided about your personal history was minimal.

712
00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:18,120
Speaker 3: Your council simply relied on the personal history you provided

713
00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:23,480
Speaker 3: in your trial testimony. There were no psychiatric or psychological reports, provided,

714
00:46:24,120 --> 00:46:28,880
Speaker 3: no references from character witnesses. No doubt that approach to

715
00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:33,279
Speaker 3: your plea hearing was based on your instructions. But it

716
00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:35,920
Speaker 3: means the account of your personal history that I am

717
00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:40,320
Speaker 3: about to give is limited. You were born in Adelaide

718
00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:43,840
Speaker 3: on the thirtieth September nineteen seventy four, making you forty

719
00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:46,080
Speaker 3: eight years old at the time of your offending and

720
00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:50,759
Speaker 3: fifty now. Your maiden name was Scutter. In nineteen seventy seven,

721
00:46:50,840 --> 00:46:53,680
Speaker 3: your family relocated to Melbourne, residing in Hampton.

722
00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:56,000
Speaker 5: In two thousand and four, you and.

723
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:59,000
Speaker 3: Simon Patterson met whilst you were both employed at Monash

724
00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:02,400
Speaker 3: City Council. Simon told the jury that he was working

725
00:47:02,440 --> 00:47:05,480
Speaker 3: there as a civil engineer, and you were the RSPCA's

726
00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:10,120
Speaker 3: representative on the council. By two thousand and five, you

727
00:47:10,200 --> 00:47:14,359
Speaker 3: and Simon were romantically involved. In two thousand and six,

728
00:47:14,480 --> 00:47:18,879
Speaker 3: your grandmother died, leaving you a substantial inheritance moneys from

729
00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:21,920
Speaker 3: her estate were distributed between two thousand and seven and

730
00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:26,160
Speaker 3: two thousand and fifteen. During those years, you would be

731
00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:29,840
Speaker 3: generous with your money to Simon's siblings, providing large, no

732
00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:32,839
Speaker 3: interest loans to them and their spouses so that they

733
00:47:32,880 --> 00:47:36,879
Speaker 3: could purchase their own homes. On the second of June

734
00:47:36,920 --> 00:47:39,959
Speaker 3: two thousand and seven, you and Simon married. You told

735
00:47:39,960 --> 00:47:42,360
Speaker 3: the jury that your parents did not attend the wedding

736
00:47:42,760 --> 00:47:47,319
Speaker 3: they were holidaying in Russia. Soon after your marriage, you

737
00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:50,239
Speaker 3: and Simon traveled around Australia and overseas for a few

738
00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:54,040
Speaker 3: months before settling in Perth. Simon got a job working

739
00:47:54,120 --> 00:47:59,239
Speaker 3: for an inner city Ship council in two thousand and nine,

740
00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:01,160
Speaker 3: when you were thirty five four. Your son was born

741
00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:04,719
Speaker 3: in April two thousand and nine. You and Simon set

742
00:48:04,719 --> 00:48:07,120
Speaker 3: off with the baby to explore the top end of Australia.

743
00:48:07,719 --> 00:48:10,560
Speaker 3: You reached Townsville in November two thousand and nine, at

744
00:48:10,560 --> 00:48:14,080
Speaker 3: which point you parted company. You flew back to Perth,

745
00:48:14,680 --> 00:48:18,160
Speaker 3: Simon drove back with the baby. You rented a cottage

746
00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:21,400
Speaker 3: for you and the baby. Simon rented an onsite caravan

747
00:48:21,480 --> 00:48:25,080
Speaker 3: close by. This was the first of many comparatively short

748
00:48:25,160 --> 00:48:29,280
Speaker 3: term separations. You reunited by the end of January twenty

749
00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:33,879
Speaker 3: and ten. In twenty eleven, your father died. In that year,

750
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:38,640
Speaker 3: you also opened a second hand bookshop in Pedmington, Western Australia.

751
00:48:38,920 --> 00:48:42,880
Speaker 3: In twenty thirteen, when you were pregnant, you and Simon

752
00:48:42,920 --> 00:48:45,680
Speaker 3: returned to Victoria with your son to live closer to

753
00:48:45,719 --> 00:48:50,400
Speaker 3: Simon's family. In twenty fourteen, your daughter was born. In

754
00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:55,640
Speaker 3: twenty fifteen, you and Simon separated permanently. In two thousand

755
00:48:55,680 --> 00:49:00,719
Speaker 3: and nineteen, your mother died, leaving you an inheritance. In

756
00:49:00,840 --> 00:49:04,239
Speaker 3: June twenty two, you and your children moved into a

757
00:49:04,280 --> 00:49:07,360
Speaker 3: newly constructed home at eighty four Gibson, Streatley and Gathera,

758
00:49:08,120 --> 00:49:10,279
Speaker 3: the home at which you served the fatal lunch on

759
00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:14,120
Speaker 3: the twenty ninth of July twenty three. You have no

760
00:49:14,200 --> 00:49:19,319
Speaker 3: relevant criminal history. You maintain your innocence. In other words,

761
00:49:19,400 --> 00:49:24,239
Speaker 3: there is no evidence of remorse. I turn now to

762
00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:27,600
Speaker 3: the conditions of your imprisonment. As mentioned, you have been

763
00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:31,520
Speaker 3: in custody since the second of November twenty three. There

764
00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:35,799
Speaker 3: were two affidavits tended relating to your conditions of imprisonment.

765
00:49:36,080 --> 00:49:37,359
Speaker 3: The first was sworn.

766
00:49:37,080 --> 00:49:39,200
Speaker 5: By a solicitor who acts for you and was based

767
00:49:39,239 --> 00:49:40,600
Speaker 5: largely on your instructions.

768
00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:45,400
Speaker 3: The second affidavit was sworn by Jennifer Hoskin, Assistant Commissioner,

769
00:49:45,480 --> 00:49:50,120
Speaker 3: Sentenced Management Division at Corrections Victoria, who also testified at

770
00:49:50,160 --> 00:49:55,920
Speaker 3: your plea hearing. Miss Hoskins evidence included confirmation of the

771
00:49:55,920 --> 00:50:00,680
Speaker 3: following matters. You have a quote Maximum Security you rating

772
00:50:01,360 --> 00:50:06,239
Speaker 3: and quote major offender status. Because of the nature of

773
00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:10,000
Speaker 3: your crimes and your notoriety, you have been assessed as

774
00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:15,640
Speaker 3: being at significant risk from other prisoners. You have not

775
00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:20,480
Speaker 3: been assessed as posing a risk to other prisoners. You

776
00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:23,759
Speaker 3: have spent approximately sixteen months of your twenty two months

777
00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:26,879
Speaker 3: at Dame Phillis Frost Center in a management unit called

778
00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:29,400
Speaker 3: the Gordon Unit, and the rest of the time in

779
00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:33,760
Speaker 3: a protection unit called the Murray Unit. A management unit

780
00:50:33,880 --> 00:50:38,120
Speaker 3: is more restrictive than a protection unit. You have been

781
00:50:38,160 --> 00:50:41,360
Speaker 3: in the Gordon Unit continuously for the last fifteen months.

782
00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:46,200
Speaker 3: The Gordon unit has about twenty cells. You are not

783
00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:49,040
Speaker 3: permitted to mix with the other women in the Gordon Unit.

784
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:52,480
Speaker 3: You have spent at least twenty two hours in your

785
00:50:52,560 --> 00:50:55,840
Speaker 3: cell every day that you have been in the Gordon Unit.

786
00:50:57,160 --> 00:51:00,439
Speaker 3: There have been sixteen days since November twenty four where

787
00:51:00,480 --> 00:51:03,680
Speaker 3: because of lockdowns, you have been confined to your cell

788
00:51:03,719 --> 00:51:09,239
Speaker 3: for the entire twenty four hours per day. The maximum

789
00:51:09,280 --> 00:51:12,000
Speaker 3: period that a prisoner in the Gordon Unit could have

790
00:51:12,200 --> 00:51:15,160
Speaker 3: out of their cell on any given day is four hours,

791
00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:21,000
Speaker 3: but quote that wouldn't happen very often. Your meals and

792
00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:24,319
Speaker 3: medicine are currently delivered through a flap in your cell door.

793
00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:30,160
Speaker 3: There is a small concrete yard approximately two meters by

794
00:51:30,160 --> 00:51:34,200
Speaker 3: one point five meters which adjoins your cell, which with permission,

795
00:51:34,560 --> 00:51:39,080
Speaker 3: you may access for fresh air. If prisoners are using

796
00:51:39,160 --> 00:51:43,759
Speaker 3: the larger exercise yard which abuts your exercise yard, you

797
00:51:43,840 --> 00:51:49,400
Speaker 3: may not use your small yard. During your time in

798
00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:52,200
Speaker 3: the Gordon Unit, you have barely had any contact with

799
00:51:52,320 --> 00:51:57,319
Speaker 3: other individuals. Permission is required for you to communicate with

800
00:51:57,400 --> 00:52:00,640
Speaker 3: any other prisoner, which, according to your council, is complicated

801
00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:03,080
Speaker 3: by the fact that you are not informed of the

802
00:52:03,120 --> 00:52:08,200
Speaker 3: identities of the other prisoners in the Gordon Unit. You

803
00:52:08,320 --> 00:52:11,480
Speaker 3: currently have approval to communicate with one other prisoner in

804
00:52:11,520 --> 00:52:14,719
Speaker 3: the Gordon Unit through a wire mesh when the two

805
00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:18,480
Speaker 3: of you are permitted to use your respective adjoining exercise yards.

806
00:52:20,160 --> 00:52:23,200
Speaker 3: That under other prisoner is undergoing a lengthy sentence for

807
00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:27,840
Speaker 3: terrorism offenses and has attacked other prisoners. You did not

808
00:52:27,960 --> 00:52:31,959
Speaker 3: ask to communicate with that person and have not communicated

809
00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:35,399
Speaker 3: with her. The suggestion that you should communicate with her

810
00:52:35,840 --> 00:52:41,080
Speaker 3: was made by a corrections officer. There is an intercom

811
00:52:41,200 --> 00:52:44,239
Speaker 3: in your cell, which, if permission is granted, you may

812
00:52:44,360 --> 00:52:47,080
Speaker 3: use to communicate with one other prisoner in the unit

813
00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:51,160
Speaker 3: at a time, but you have not done so. In

814
00:52:51,280 --> 00:52:54,120
Speaker 3: order to attend any other part of the prison, for example,

815
00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:57,480
Speaker 3: the visitors center or the library, you are driven there

816
00:52:57,600 --> 00:53:03,960
Speaker 3: escorted by two corrections officers. While theoretically prisoners in the

817
00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:07,040
Speaker 3: Gordon Unit are able to access the prison library twice

818
00:53:07,080 --> 00:53:11,120
Speaker 3: per week for twenty minutes at a time, you have

819
00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:13,960
Speaker 3: not been able to do so because of staff shortages

820
00:53:14,880 --> 00:53:17,160
Speaker 3: and a rule that you may not access the library

821
00:53:17,200 --> 00:53:20,640
Speaker 3: if another is doing so. Consequently, you have only been

822
00:53:20,680 --> 00:53:23,720
Speaker 3: able to access the library a handful of times during

823
00:53:23,760 --> 00:53:28,839
Speaker 3: your time in the Gordon Unit. United Nations guidelines known

824
00:53:28,840 --> 00:53:31,719
Speaker 3: as the Bangkok Rules provide that a prisoner should not

825
00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:35,120
Speaker 3: be in separation for more than fifteen days at a time,

826
00:53:35,640 --> 00:53:39,760
Speaker 3: but you have now been in separation continuously for fifteen months.

827
00:53:41,680 --> 00:53:44,279
Speaker 3: There are two prisoners in the Gordon Unit who have

828
00:53:44,360 --> 00:53:49,200
Speaker 3: been there in excess of three years, and whilst the

829
00:53:49,239 --> 00:53:52,440
Speaker 3: primary principle in the placement of prisoners is to manage

830
00:53:52,440 --> 00:53:56,440
Speaker 3: and place them in the least restrictive environment necessary to

831
00:53:56,560 --> 00:53:59,719
Speaker 3: ensure the safety and security of the individual prisoner and

832
00:53:59,760 --> 00:54:05,000
Speaker 3: others prisoners, the least restrictive environment can be very restrictive

833
00:54:07,080 --> 00:54:12,200
Speaker 3: as for your future conditions of imprisonment, Whilst your placement

834
00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:12,480
Speaker 3: in the.

835
00:54:12,400 --> 00:54:14,200
Speaker 5: Gordon Unit is reviewed.

836
00:54:13,760 --> 00:54:18,640
Speaker 3: Monthly, Miss Hoskin was unable to say whether you would

837
00:54:18,640 --> 00:54:23,759
Speaker 3: ever be moved from the Gordon Unit. I infer that,

838
00:54:23,840 --> 00:54:27,560
Speaker 3: given the unprecedented media coverage of your case and the books,

839
00:54:27,719 --> 00:54:30,920
Speaker 3: documentaries and TV series about you, which are all in

840
00:54:30,960 --> 00:54:35,800
Speaker 3: the pipeline, you are likely to remain remain a notorious

841
00:54:35,840 --> 00:54:39,160
Speaker 3: prisoner for many years to come, and as such remain

842
00:54:39,200 --> 00:54:45,120
Speaker 3: at significant risks from other prisoners. I turn then to

843
00:54:45,200 --> 00:54:50,279
Speaker 3: a number of relevant sentencing principles and rules. Section five

844
00:54:50,320 --> 00:54:53,080
Speaker 3: of the Sentencing Act nineteen ninety one declares that the

845
00:54:53,120 --> 00:54:58,320
Speaker 3: only purposes for which sentences may be imposed are just punishment,

846
00:54:58,960 --> 00:55:05,560
Speaker 3: specific and general de terrence, rehabilitation, denunciation and protection of

847
00:55:05,560 --> 00:55:09,200
Speaker 3: the community. I have had regard to all of these

848
00:55:09,239 --> 00:55:14,160
Speaker 3: sentencing purposes in formulating my sentences, but rehabilitation has taken

849
00:55:14,200 --> 00:55:16,920
Speaker 3: a back seat because of the gravity of your offending.

850
00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:21,960
Speaker 3: Other provisions of the Sentencing Act that are of particular

851
00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:26,399
Speaker 3: relevance to your case are as follows. Under section six

852
00:55:26,440 --> 00:55:29,239
Speaker 3: A to six F, you fall to be sentenced as

853
00:55:29,280 --> 00:55:32,600
Speaker 3: a serious violent offender in respect of the three murders,

854
00:55:32,719 --> 00:55:35,840
Speaker 3: meaning that the protection of the community is the principal

855
00:55:35,960 --> 00:55:39,759
Speaker 3: purpose for which the sentences on those counts must be imposed.

856
00:55:41,719 --> 00:55:44,880
Speaker 3: Under section six F, your status as a serious violent

857
00:55:44,880 --> 00:55:49,320
Speaker 3: offender must be entered in the court records. Section eleven

858
00:55:49,520 --> 00:55:53,560
Speaker 3: one provides relevantly that if a court sentences an offender

859
00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:55,960
Speaker 3: to be imprisonment for the term of her natural life,

860
00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:58,880
Speaker 3: the court must, as part of the sentence, fix a

861
00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:01,960
Speaker 3: period during which the offender is not eligible to be

862
00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:06,560
Speaker 3: released on parole, unless it considers that the nature of

863
00:56:06,600 --> 00:56:10,359
Speaker 3: the offense makes the fixing of such a period inappropriate.

864
00:56:13,200 --> 00:56:17,800
Speaker 3: Section eleven a, for a, provides that where an offender

865
00:56:17,880 --> 00:56:21,120
Speaker 3: is sentenced to life imprisonment, the sentence must fix a

866
00:56:21,160 --> 00:56:24,680
Speaker 3: non parole period of at least thirty years, unless it

867
00:56:24,719 --> 00:56:26,880
Speaker 3: is not in the interests of justice to do so.

868
00:56:29,400 --> 00:56:34,680
Speaker 3: Is it inappropriate to fix a non parole period. Would

869
00:56:34,840 --> 00:56:38,520
Speaker 3: fixing a non parole period be contrary to the interests

870
00:56:38,560 --> 00:56:43,400
Speaker 3: of justice? As mentioned above, This is the main dispute

871
00:56:43,480 --> 00:56:48,840
Speaker 3: that I have to determine sentence in case law establishes that,

872
00:56:48,920 --> 00:56:53,000
Speaker 3: as a general rule, harsher than normal conditions of imprisonment

873
00:56:53,360 --> 00:56:58,120
Speaker 3: will warrant mitigation of penalty. There is nothing about your

874
00:56:58,200 --> 00:57:01,640
Speaker 3: conduct whilst in custody which might cast doubt on the

875
00:57:01,680 --> 00:57:07,600
Speaker 3: application of that general rule. As Miss Hosking indicated, you

876
00:57:07,680 --> 00:57:10,719
Speaker 3: are in a management unit to protect you from other prisoners,

877
00:57:11,400 --> 00:57:15,720
Speaker 3: not vice versa, nor do you have any relevant criminal history.

878
00:57:17,760 --> 00:57:22,160
Speaker 3: In their written submissions, the prosecution conceded that your conditions

879
00:57:22,160 --> 00:57:25,880
Speaker 3: of imprisonment are more burdensome than for a mainstream prisoner,

880
00:57:26,840 --> 00:57:29,040
Speaker 3: and that they are likely to remain so for the

881
00:57:29,040 --> 00:57:34,120
Speaker 3: foreseeable future. The prosecution submitted that this is a quote

882
00:57:34,560 --> 00:57:41,480
Speaker 3: relevant consideration for sentence. In oral submissions, the prosecution conceded

883
00:57:41,480 --> 00:57:47,200
Speaker 3: that this consideration was not just relevant, but quote important

884
00:57:47,760 --> 00:57:53,640
Speaker 3: and quote weighty. While still pressing for life imprisonment with

885
00:57:53,760 --> 00:57:59,760
Speaker 3: no possibility of parole, you have effectively been held in

886
00:57:59,800 --> 00:58:03,840
Speaker 3: con tenuous solitary confinement for the last fifteen months, and

887
00:58:03,920 --> 00:58:07,240
Speaker 3: at the very least, there is a substantial chance that,

888
00:58:07,280 --> 00:58:10,240
Speaker 3: for your protection, you will continue to be held in

889
00:58:10,280 --> 00:58:15,520
Speaker 3: solitary confinement for years to come. The Court of Appeal

890
00:58:15,760 --> 00:58:20,360
Speaker 3: in yeat against the King referred without criticism to the

891
00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:25,640
Speaker 3: observation that quote the adverse health effects of solitary confinement

892
00:58:25,760 --> 00:58:31,080
Speaker 3: are well established. I note too that Miss Hosking stated

893
00:58:31,080 --> 00:58:35,440
Speaker 3: at the plea hearing that quote being separated has negative

894
00:58:35,480 --> 00:58:36,600
Speaker 3: outcomes for people.

895
00:58:37,400 --> 00:58:38,640
Speaker 5: We're very aware of that.

896
00:58:41,680 --> 00:58:46,120
Speaker 3: The harsh prison conditions that you have experienced already and

897
00:58:46,200 --> 00:58:50,280
Speaker 3: the likely prospect of solitary confinement for the foreseeable future

898
00:58:50,880 --> 00:58:55,520
Speaker 3: are important and weighty considerations which should count for something

899
00:58:55,560 --> 00:59:00,320
Speaker 3: in the sentencing exercise. In my view, the only scope

900
00:59:00,360 --> 00:59:03,000
Speaker 3: for making them count is by the fixing of a

901
00:59:03,040 --> 00:59:08,080
Speaker 3: non parole period. In opposing the imposition of a non

902
00:59:08,120 --> 00:59:12,600
Speaker 3: parole period, the prosecution relied on the coin against Colston,

903
00:59:13,320 --> 00:59:16,160
Speaker 3: where the offender was sentenced to life imprisonment without a

904
00:59:16,240 --> 00:59:19,840
Speaker 3: non parole period for the savage murders of three people.

905
00:59:20,880 --> 00:59:24,520
Speaker 3: But that case makes clear that quote where there is

906
00:59:24,640 --> 00:59:30,640
Speaker 3: a substantial factor pointing towards clemency. As I consider your

907
00:59:30,680 --> 00:59:35,840
Speaker 3: present and likely future conditions of imprisonment to be The

908
00:59:35,880 --> 00:59:39,120
Speaker 3: fixing of a non parole period may be appropriate, even

909
00:59:39,240 --> 00:59:44,720
Speaker 3: for an offender who has committed multiple murders. Fixing a

910
00:59:44,760 --> 00:59:48,400
Speaker 3: non parole period is not to undervalue the horrendous nature

911
00:59:48,440 --> 00:59:53,400
Speaker 3: of your offending. Your total effective sentence will be life imprisonment,

912
00:59:54,040 --> 00:59:56,800
Speaker 3: and the period during which you will be ineligible for

913
00:59:56,920 --> 01:00:08,000
Speaker 3: parole will be a very substantial one. Please stand for

914
01:00:08,080 --> 01:00:11,080
Speaker 3: the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. I sentence you to

915
01:00:11,120 --> 01:00:15,880
Speaker 3: twenty five years imprisonment. For the murder of Heather Wilkinson.

916
01:00:16,080 --> 01:00:19,680
Speaker 3: I sentence you to life imprisonment. For the murder of

917
01:00:19,720 --> 01:00:24,280
Speaker 3: Gail Patterson. I sentence you to life imprisonment for the

918
01:00:24,360 --> 01:00:28,040
Speaker 3: murder of Don Patterson. I sentence you to life imprisonment.

919
01:00:28,960 --> 01:00:33,960
Speaker 3: All sentences are to be served concurrently. The total effective

920
01:00:33,960 --> 01:00:38,240
Speaker 3: sentence is life imprisonment, and I fix a non parole

921
01:00:38,360 --> 01:00:43,760
Speaker 3: period of thirty three years. I declare that you have

922
01:00:43,840 --> 01:00:46,960
Speaker 3: served six hundred and seventy six days by way of

923
01:00:47,040 --> 01:00:48,120
Speaker 3: pre sentenced attention.

924
01:00:49,800 --> 01:00:53,440
Speaker 5: Finally, and by consent, I make the.

925
01:00:53,400 --> 01:00:59,000
Speaker 3: Disposal order sought by the prosecution. Would you please remove

926
01:00:59,160 --> 01:00:59,880
Speaker 3: miss Patterson.

927
01:01:01,560 --> 01:01:04,240
Speaker 1: So that was the sentence in full keep an eye

928
01:01:04,240 --> 01:01:06,320
Speaker 1: out for more episodes to come.

929
01:01:06,680 --> 01:01:07,640
Speaker 2: Until next time, Brook