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Erin Patterson's bid to escape jail on the back of an appeal is fraught with danger, according to one of Australia's top legal minds.
As Crown prosecutors prepare their case to ensure the evil killer remains behind bars for the rest of her life, the 51-year-old is putting together a crack team of legal minds to challenge her conviction.
Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Christopher Beale sentenced Patterson to life in prison on September 8, but set a non-parole period of 33 years.
Patterson was found guilty of the murders of Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson.
They died after consuming death cap mushrooms served in Beef Wellingtons during lunch at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.
Pastor Ian Wilkinson survived the lunch after being critically ill, with Patterson also convicted of his attempted murder.
Top Melbourne criminal lawyer George Balot, of Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers, told Daily Mail on its latest The Trial Australia Podcast that Patterson's legal team might focus on picking holes in the judge's final address to the jury at her trial.
Justice Beale's epic final address, known as the 'judge's charge', was delivered over five long days, spanning from June 24 to June 30.
Patterson has reportedly engaged the services of barrister Julian McMahon - a Companion of the Order of Australia and a Senior Counsel who counts the heroin smuggling ringleaders of the Bali Nine among his highest-profile defendants.
While Mr Balor said he was unsure who would defend Patterson, he believed Mr McMahon was well suited to the job.
'He's a brilliant lateral thinker, a good problem solver, a humble man with a great ability,' Mr Balot said.
'In my view, he's up there with the very best senior counsels we have in the country.'
Mr Balot said Patterson's team would be looking hard at the Jury Directions Act to formulate her escape plan.
'If they file the appeal against conviction, then he might look into some of the Jury Direction Act requirements as to whether the jury received proper directions, whether there was an error of law,' he said.
'So these are some of the things that he's going to have to think about in formulating his appeal.
'It needs to be able to demonstrate that there was a miscarriage of justice. The Court of Appeal has recently allowed a number of appeals where judges had misdirected juries or failed to direct them.
'I'm not suggesting this has happened here, but what I am saying is it's something that he's going to have to consider and will consider, and he will do it on the highest level.'
Patterson's team is expected to challenge Justice Beale's summary of her defence, amid speculation it failed to adequately highlight her testimony and arguments, including her claim of accidental mushroom inclusion, her lack of knowledge about death caps' lethality, and her explanations for so-called 'incriminating conduct
It could also argue Justice Beale selectively emphasised prosecution points without giving equal scrutiny to witness credibility, including 'hearsay evidence' from Patterson's dying victims.
Patterson's admitted lies could also present difficulties in the Court of Appeal, with a potential argument about Justice Beale's framing of them, which may have encouraged an inference of guilt, particularly when linked to phone data and factory resets.
Mr Balot said the Court of Appeal in Victoria appeared to have increasingly been entertaining appeals concerning trial directions over the past year.
'The Court of Appeal has recently been a lot more receptive,' he said.
'So whereas in the past not many appeals were getting through as successful appeals being upheld, now we're seeing in the last 12 months more appeals than I can ever remember being upheld and convictions quashed.'
But Patterson's attempt to overturn her conviction carries its own risks to her liberty.
'So if she puts in an appeal against conviction and she's successful ... and a retrial is ordered, some of the evidence will be played on video for a new jury,' he said.
'So not all the witnesses will have to go through the same process. In addition to that, evidence that might have been excluded in previous trials might not be excluded on this trial.
'So it's very important to keep that in mind and you know be careful as to what you wish for.'
Patterson had been fortunate in having crucial police evidence withheld from the jury, which will likely be re-introduced should a retrial be ordered.
'And another interesting thing ... is if she succeeds on her conviction appeal, she might then be able to go back to the Supreme Court, plead guilty and receive a discount for a plea of guilty and saving the community a trial,' Mr Balot said.
'And so she could potentially do better than 33 years if she takes advantage of that.'
Whatever the case, Mr Balot believes Patterson won't be getting out of jail anytime soon.
'The Court of Appeal might not sit for a long period of time. It won't, in my view,' he said.
'Firstly, she has to persuade the court that the court should grant leave for her to appeal. In other words, permission for her to appeal.
'And that needs to be a tenable argument. And then once that's done, the Court of Appeal might not hear the appeal for quite some time.
'It might not happen until 2026 or even 2027. It might be a long time.'
The test for appeals in Victoria depends on whether or not the grounds are reasonably arguable.