https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/accused-triple-murderer-erin-patterso...
Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson’s life behind bars before trial
Details about accused triple murderer Erin Patterson’s life behind bars before
facing trial over the mushroom deaths has been revealed.
March 22, 2024
Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has been forced into a protected unit
at a women’s maximum security prison along with pedophile rapist Malka Leifer
as fears mount for the mother of two’s safety.
Ms Patterson, 49, has spent four months behind bars at Ravenhall’s Dame Phyllis Frost Centre after she was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in November last year.
It comes as a prison source said Ms Patterson was placed into a protection unit, housed with some of the worst female offenders including convicted
pedophile teacher Malka Leifer.
The insider said Ms Patterson required isolation from other inmates due to personal safety risks.
“If Erin got out of protection, the girls would hurt her,” they told the Herald Sun.
“She allegedly killed three elderly people.
“There’s a rule, you don’t touch the elderly and you don’t touch babies so because of that, you go into protection.”
The protection unit at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre consists of two types of accommodation — cells and self-contained units.
It is believed Ms Patterson is detained in one of the self-contained units, which is decked out with a bed, shower, toilet, sink, desk and closet.She cannot leave her unit but can freely walk around it.
The prison source revealed that
Ms Patterson may have access to a kitchen where she cooks her own meals.“She can cook anything, there’s all sorts of meats, vegetables, fruit,” the source said.
“All the stuff you can buy in Coles and Woolworths, if she feels like steak, she can make that.”
Dame Phyllis Frost Centre is one of two female prisons in the state and currently houses more than 500 women.Ms Patterson’s former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson died after allegedly eating a poisonous beef wellington dish at her Leongatha home on July 29.