Australian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson loses appeal
The court also found that Patterson's original jail sentence - which saw her eligible for release after 33 years - did not match the gravity of her crimes.
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MELBOURNE: Australian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson lost a bid to overturn her convictions on Friday (Oct 30), failing to prove she was wrongfully jailed for killing three people with a poisoned lunch.
Patterson was found guilty last year of murdering her husband's parents and elderly aunt, deliberately lacing their beef Wellington meal with highly toxic death cap mushrooms.
But the 52-year-old maintained her triple murder convictions were a "miscarriage of justice", urging the Court of Appeal in Victoria state to either set her free or have the case heard again.
The court said it had "dismissed" her application, finding insufficient grounds to try the case again.
It also found that Patterson's original jail sentence - which saw her eligible for release after 33 years - did not match the gravity of her crimes.
The court ruled Patterson's non-parole period should be set aside, meaning the 52-year-old is likely to die in prison.
Her trial last year drew podcasters, film crews and true crime fans to a courthouse in the rural town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet in Victoria better known for its prize-winning roses.
Audiences from New York to New Delhi followed every twist of what many now simply call the "mushroom murders".
The motive of the killings remains a mystery.
A 12-person jury found Patterson guilty in July last year of murdering her husband Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt, Heather Wilkinson, at her home in the Victorian farming village of Leongatha.
She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Heather's husband Ian, a pastor who fell gravely ill but eventually recovered.
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