A hair straightener, a fan and lots of wool. Inside Erin Patterson’s prison cell
By Erin Pearson
During 22 hours locked in her cell each day, Erin Patterson tries to busy herself with the small things.
She crochets, watches TV and has a computer. A 1.5-metre by 1.5-metre courtyard, accessible through a back door in her cell, provides her with the only “open airspace” she is likely to get. That’s if she can find a guard to open it.
Erin Patterson arrives at court on Monday.Credit: Jason Edwards
There are about 20 cells in the Gordon unit of Dame Phyllis Frost women’s prison, where Patterson has remained since her arrest in November 2023.
She is permitted to speak to only one – a woman serving a sentence for terrorism offences who has attacked other inmates.
The pair are not allowed physical contact but can speak through a mesh divider in their courtyards. Patterson, her lawyer said, had never chosen to interact.
A portrait of the mushroom killer’s life behind bars has been painted during a plea hearing in the Supreme Court, revealing a life of isolation, staff shortages and lots of wool.
The Dame Phyllis Frost women’s prison at Ravenhall.Credit: Joe Armao
Jennifer Hosking, Corrections Victoria’s assistant commissioner of sentence management, said the 50-year-old had space for personal items, a computer, her own pillows, a television, hair straightener and a fan in her cell.
Hosking said Patterson appeared to be an avid crocheter and her cell was adorned with blankets she had made herself.
“She has normal cell provision, things like television, room for her personal items,” Hosking said. “I understand she’s a keen crocheter and has lots of wool and crocheting equipment in there.
“She has a computer ... which she’s had for some time and that’s in her cell.”
When Patterson first arrived at the prison, she was immediately given “major offender” status because of the high level of public interest in her case.
For her own safety, she has been placed in management units since, which has restricted her ability to move about the prison and with whom she can interact.
Inmates can access a prison library and leisure centre, but Patterson can only go if accompanied in a van by two guards and when no other prisoners are there.
Hosking said Patterson had used the prison’s distress intervention service when she arrived, and had “most recently refused to engage”.
Patterson’s lawyer said she had availed herself of the chaplain services on at least six occasions.
She would have access to education once she was sentenced, the court heard.
George Marrogi’s ex-partner Antonietta Mannella is one of the other long-term inmates of the Gordon unit.Credit: Instagram
The Gordon unit has a kitchenette where inmates can prepare their own food and a lounge area with a treadmill and TVs “for the women to sit together and converse”.
Others housed inside the unit long-term, the court heard, included Antonietta Mannella, the girlfriend of crime kingpin George Marrogi, and convicted terrorist Momena Shoma.
Defence barrister Colin Mandy, SC, said his client had “never spoken one word” to those women and told the court to be approved for contact with others inside the unit, his client required permission from the prison.
Lockdowns at the prison had limited Patterson’s time outside her cell. Mandy said his client spent 22 to 24 hours each day locked up.
Patterson told her legal team she had been unable to walk to collect food and medication, which was instead being delivered through a trap door in her cell, due to ongoing staff shortages, which Hosking said the prison was working to address.
“Probably since the middle of last year, the lockdowns have been more pronounced,” Hosking said.
“The main reason is staff shortages. As a result of COVID-19, we had a lot less women in prison, so it was sensible we did not keep recruiting when staff resigned or retired.
“We anticipate it will improve significantly by the end of this year or early next.”
The court heard while Patterson’s conditions in custody were flexible, Hosking could not guarantee she would ever leave the management unit while remaining a “notorious” inmate, for her own safety.
“She hasn’t had access to other prisoners, yes, that’s correct,” Hosking said.
Mandy said Patterson was also hobbled by autism and social awkwardness, which would make her time behind bars difficult.
He pressed Justice Christopher Beale to consider the harsh conditions of Patterson’s incarceration when determining her sentence.
Beale said it was the most significant point in mitigation, noting the long periods in her cell “doesn’t sound very humane”.
“Her notoriety isn’t going to diminish,” Beale said.
“I feel fairly confident she is going to remain notorious for a long, long time.”
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