Erin Patterson: Australian prosecutors appeal mushroom murderer's 'inadequate' sentence

Erin Patterson was jailed for a minimum of 33 years for murdering three people with a toxic mushroom meal.

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Last month Patterson, 51, was jailed for life with no chance of release for at least 33 years, for murdering three relatives and trying to kill another with a toxic mushroom meal.

On Monday, the deadline for the appeal, the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) confirmed that it had filed an appeal "on the basis that the sentence handed down to Erin Patterson is manifestly inadequate".

Patterson's jail term - one of the longest ever handed to a female offender in Australia - means she will be in her 80s before she is able to apply for parole.

Last week, her barrister Richard Edney told a hearing in Melbourne that she intended to appeal against her conviction, though this has not yet been formally lodged.