Australian ‘mushroom murderer’ Erin Patterson to get ‘taxpayer-funded’ Ozempic jabs in jail

Australian ‘mushroom murderer’ Erin Patterson to get ‘taxpayer-funded’ Ozempic jabs in jail The 51-year-old is serving life at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne for triple murder - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments An Australian woman convicted of murdering three relatives with poisonous mushrooms has been approved for Ozempic weight-loss jabs while in prison, according to reports. Erin Patterson, the 51-year-old serving life at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne for the triple murder, returned to court last month to overturn her convictions. Patterson has been approved for the weight-loss drug because she is in solitary confinement and won't be able to exercise, according to local reports. She was granted the weight-loss injections in recent weeks, the Herald Sun reported, citing prison sources. The Victoria justice department said that drugs are provided to prisoners if required based on doctors' advice. “Prescriptions are only given by clinicians when there’s a clear medical need, such as like preventing serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes,” a spokesperson told News Nine. “Access to prescribed weight loss medication was introduced in response to recommendations from the Coroner following a death in custody linked to obesity.” Victorian shadow police minister Brad Battin called the approval of weight-loss drug “disgraceful”, arguing that a "taxpayer shouldn't be subsidising Ozempic". “If you’ve got a genuine health concern and you break your leg, it should be treated, but to use this as a quick and easy way to get weight loss is nothing short of a disgrace,” Mr Battin said. “Prisoners have got a lot of time on their hands, so why don’t we prescribe to them going to the gym and also review what food they’re eating in the prison." Patterson was found guilty last year of murdering her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66. She was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived after becoming gravely ill. Patterson has always denied deliberately poisoning her relatives. The case, which transfixed Australia and generated a flood of podcasts, books and television programmes, centres on a family lunch at Patterson’s home in Leongatha, in Victoria’s Gippsland region, on 16 July 2023. The meal was a beef Wellington dish prepared with the deadly death cap mushrooms. She maintained during her trial that the inclusion of the highly toxic mushrooms was an accident and that she panicked and attempted to conceal what had happened afterwards. During the appeal, her lawyers argued that some of the trial evidence was too speculative and that key evidence for their case had been wrongly excluded. The judges are expected to reserve their decision and the outcome may not be known for several weeks. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments