Erin Patterson: Mushroom killer out of solitary confinement and said to be ruling Dame Phyllis Frost Centre

One of Australia’s most notorious killers is finally mingling with other inmates as fresh claims emerge about her time behind bars.

Erin Patterson, dubbed ‘mushroom killer’, has been taken out of solitary confinement at Melbourne’s Dame Phyllis Frost Centre where she is serving a minimum 33-year sentence on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The convictions related to the 2023 deaths of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, who died after consuming a beef Wellington laced with toxic mushrooms at Patterson’s home in regional Victoria.

Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, also became critically ill but survived after several weeks in hospital.

Patterson was recently released into the wider prison population after spending almost two-and-a-half years in isolation, and sources have revealed she’s moved quickly to establish herself as a powerful force inside the maximum security prison.

“She’s shrewd and conniving and has teamed up with a second inmate,” a prison source told the Daily Mail.

“They both now run the prison.”

It’s unclear who the “second inmate” could be, however Patterson’s in good company with a number of notorious women calling Dame Phyllis home.

Among them, Melbourne underworld matriarch, Judy Moran who’s spent the last 15 years doing time for the murder of her brother-in-law in 2009.

Convicted paedophile Malka Leifer is also locked up in the same prison, doing 15 years for sexually abusing two students while she was principal of Adass Israel School in Melbourne.

Leifer was previously said to be in a jailhouse romance with con-woman Samantha Azzopardi, who is best known for posing as a 17-year-old sex-trafficked schoolgirl from Belgium.

“It’s not just about affection, there’s manipulation, control, and status in these kinds of relationships,” a former inmate told the Daily Mail in July last year.

“Now Erin’s in the mix, bringing a much different dynamic, so things may shift around.”

It’s unclear if Azzopardi has been released from jail, with the parole board being incredibly tight-lipped around the matter. Regardless, sources say Patterson has quickly climbed to the top of the hierarchy after being released into the general prison population.

The source predicted in July of last year that Patterson’s long sentence would unsettle the established order behind bars.

“Unlike others in the unit, she’s not loud, not brash, and certainly not remorseful,” they said. “Some inmates will keep their distance, unnerved by her silence and the sheer notoriety of her crime.

“But others will be curious and even drawn to her, fascinated by her worldwide media attention. Erin’s ability to play the long game could make her a force to be reckoned with, especially if she goes ‘gay for the stay’ like so many others. She could team up with anyone really.”

Patterson’s lawyers have lodged a formal application to appeal her convictions in the Supreme Court.