Overview
- Victoria’s Supreme Court televised the sentencing with a 10‑second delay, an unprecedented broadcast reflecting intense public interest.
- Beale found substantial planning, citing a purchased dehydrator, individually prepared beef Wellingtons, and Patterson serving herself on a different colored plate.
- Prosecutors sought no parole and the defense argued for eligibility after about 30 years; the judge fixed a 33‑year non‑parole period.
- Patterson, convicted in July of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, has 28 days to appeal.
- The 33‑year non‑parole term is the longest imposed on a woman convicted of murder in Victoria, according to court reporting.