As the 28-day window for Erin Patterson to launch an appeal against her three murder convictions starts to close, she’s sensationally changed her legal team.
Patterson is returning to the Victorian Supreme Court this morning to extend the timeframe she can file an appeal through her new lawyer, Julian McMahon, who previously represented some members of the Bali Nine.
She attended the hearing via video link – just two days after celebrating her 51st birthday behind bars at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
McMahon, a prominent human rights barrister with a history of working with criminals he says “no-one else wants to defend” will be leading Patterson’s appeal, which is set to be filed by early November.
He has previously defended the Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran who were convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia, as well as Van Tuong Nguyen, who was executed in December 2005 for trafficking drugs into Singapore.
McMahon was also named as the Australian of the Year for Victoria in 2016 for his attempts to get Chan and Sukumaran’s death penalties overturned, as well as his human rights advocacy work.
“They are truly inspirational and great role models for Australians young and old,” former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said at the Australian of the Year awards.
“The dedication and commitment each of them show to their chosen field is something for all of us to truly admire.”
PAST REPRESENTATION
When Patterson was first charged with murdering her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Heather Wilkinson, 66, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson in August 2023, Philip Dunn was brought to defend her.
The defence lawyer, who has represented some of Victoria’s most notorious criminals including gangland boss Carl Williams, as well as detectives Steven Lockwood and Henty Avon who were accused of killing Gary Abdallah as revenge for the deaths of two other police officers.
Prior to Patterson’s committal hearing in April 2024, Dunn was replaced by Colin Mandy – who represented Patterson throughout the mammoth Supreme Court trial and her sentence hearing, where she received three life sentences and a 33-year non-parole period.
