Erin Patterson - We the members of the MN jury find the defendant Guilty or Not Guilty?

[Dustyblue]

Well here we are, after 2 years of head-scratching speculation and many weeks of trial detail-thrashing. It looks like the Judge will give his directions to the jury on Tuesday, after which they'll be sequestered in a local motel (I do not envy them this) to reach a verdict.

Clearly we're not privy to every last piece of evidence shown at the trial, but those of us who've been following closely will surely have formed an opinion one war or the other.

So, I ask you- if you were on the jury- what would your verdict be?

Agree! Just got home and catching up. ABC is good for this.

I must say, apart from all else, she's a nasty piece of work for wasting more money on this when she should be leaving it to her kids. She spent in the realm of $AUD1million on her 1st defense. She had money, thanks to various inheritances from family. Whatever is left should go to her children.

Those poor kids. Last I heard, they're living with their aunty & uncle (that is, Simon's sister & husband).

Wow, they're making a big deal of the hotel accommodations in Morwell.

More on shared hotel lodging

Mr Edney raised previous comments from Judge Christopher Beale, who oversaw Patterson's murder trial, and said at the time that jurors being sequestered in the same hotel as the lead informant was "undesirable".
The murder trial was held in the country town of Morwell, about 60 kilometres from Patterson's home in Leongatha. Her legal team had wanted the case held close to her local community.

Mr Edney says that on several days, the lead informant was seen using common areas at the hotel despite staying in a different wing.

Justice Kidd continues to pressure barrister Richard Edney about what evidence there is of a breach of conduct.

"Is there evidence there has been a breach of the communication embargo?" he asks.
"If there has been no breach on that, then where is the fundamental irregularity?"

Mr Edney again says the possibility of jurors even seeing prosecutors and informants should count as communication.

He says again "this was a hotel with windows".

"Even if you're right that communication might be non-verbal, surely there must be more than simply seeing somebody?" Justice Kidd asks.

Yes, Morwell is a small town. But this is not the only possible place these people could have stayed.

Oh please don't let this become a legal loophole. Surely not.

He says again "this was a hotel with windows".

A very unusual hotel!

It looks like all her ex husbands family are sat there witnessing this too. Its just complete self indulgence isn't it/

I think the prosecution argued well today for increasing her sentence to plain life.
But now there is an untold amount of time before the three Court of Appeal judges come to their conclusions and release their findings.

I really enjoyed the court artist's colourful pictures of Erin!

Yes they are very trippy!

listened to the latest trial plus podcast Wayne flowers says there is still more to
come but can't say what. Wonder what that is?

I didn't know there was a new podcast. Thank you for that. Although I’ll be car sharing for the next few days so it will probably be later in the week when I catch up.

What is the title of the podcast please? Thanks.

And in new news our government is going to give her free weight loss injections that will be covered by taxpayers 🤷

It’s disgusting. She she get off her fat lazy ass and exercise and reduce her food intake .

It’s bullshit. She should have to pay for them herself, like every non-diabetic in the country. My DH and I pay for our weight loss injections.

She has an exercise yard attached to her cell. She can go use that, even if she does have to ask for permission each time. She already has a treadmill in the lounge area of her cell. Didn’t realise her cell was large enough to have a lounge area.

Maybe she could watch some YouTube exercise videos and follow them. Surely she’s got internet access and a computer to watch YouTube.

Prisoners do not have unrestricted access to the internet.

When they said on the news snippet I saw that she said it was because she couldn't exercise, I thought, oh, yes, Erin the famous exerciser!

I’m sure she could access some exercise dvds or a book of fitness exercises or something. Or just use the treadmill that she already has.

It’s not as though she doesn’t have enough time to use the treadmill, and I’m guessing competing priorities are somewhat limited🫤.

Apparently she likes to knit or crochet. Perhaps she can do that while on the treadmill.

Well quite!

@FeralWoman I was under the impression that Ozempic etc jabs are fairly pricey for non-diabetics, is that true?

What bullshit. You can exercise in a small space. And given the state of prison food, it can't be that hard to resist surely? It's not as if she has to steel herself against the temptation of nightly peking duck pancakes followed by steak with asparagus & confit potatoes.

She'll be wanting to do a freaking masters degree next.

If it's Ozempic, it's being prescribed for health reasons e.g. prediabetic. Wegovy is the one approved for weight loss.

Either way, if she gets down to a healthier weight it'll cost the taxpayers less in health care overall, surely?

Ah ok, thanks. My Dad was on Ozempic long before it became known for weight loss and it was cheap b/c he was diabetic. I've heard people say their weight loss jabs cost them a lot.

Whether getting down to a healthier weight will cost less in the long run is an unknown really but I guess it's possible. I still don't think she should be offered the privilege when she could achieve it by other means. Like diet and exercise. Why not give her free gastric band surgery while we're at it?

This might sound controversial and I have no sympathy for her whatsoever but if it's being given for medical reasons such as diabetes then I'm all for her being given it because in the long run it will cost the taxpayer even more with the health issues and complications that comes with diabetes. However if she wants it because she wants a quicker, easier way to lose weight...jog on Erin.

It's interesting, she murdered her extended family with her poisoned food because she was angry with them rather than seeking therapy and having a look at herself. And here she is, considerably overweight because of eating too much of the wrong food, and that is now someone else's problem to manage in jail.

From a rather jumbled article, a few snippets -

A prison source claimed her access to Ozempic had raised eyebrows among staff. “Staff safety is a huge concern, yet management appear more concerned about the weight of a convicted killer,” they said.

On the other hand -

Access to drugs including Ozempic and Mounjaro has become available to Victorian prisoners following serious concerns about obesity and associated health conditions in the prison system.

One inmate gained 117kg in just three years behind bars before dying from an enlarged heart in 2021, weighing 199kg.

Ozempic is generally subsidised under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for eligible patients with type 2 diabetes, bringing the cost down to about $25 a month from roughly $134.

Erin Patterson approved for taxpayer-funded Ozempic while serving life sentence at Melbourne prison | The Nightly

Staff who have to handle incapacitated or aggressive prisoners might also appreciate them being a bit lighter! I keep thinking of Boomer in the Wentworth TV series, you wouldn't want to take her on in a fight.

I wonder if they were concerned about her having access to sharps? Or were just pointing out money goes to her and not staff improvements.