Erin Patterson approved for weight-loss drugs in prison

Killer mushroom cook Erin Patterson has been granted access to taxpayer-funded Ozempic while she is behind bars.

Patterson has been approved to the weight loss drug because she is in solitary confinement and she will be unable to exercise for the forseeable future due to her high-profile.

A Victorian Department of Justice spokesperson said weight loss drugs would be provided to prisoners based on doctors advice.

“Prescriptions are only given by clinicians when there’s a clear medical need - like preventing serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes,” a spokesperson said.

“Access to prescribed weight loss medication was introduced in response to recommendations from the Coroner following a death in custody linked to obesity.”

During her high-profile murder trial, Erin Patterson told the court she had a problem with binge-eating and body image issues.

The Department of Justice does not comment on the circumstances of individual prisoners.

Patterson is currently serving a 33-year minimum sentence at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne for killing Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to kill Pastor Ian Wilkinson.

A jury found Patterson deliberately served beef Wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms to her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail’s sister Wilkinson, 66.

The three guests died after lunch at Patterson’s Leongatha home, in regional Victoria, while Heather’s husband Ian fell seriously ill from the meal but survived.

She denies poisoning the group and is now waiting to see if the Victorian Court of Appeal will grant her a retrial.