That’s exactly where Erin Patterson found herself in the early days of this year’s most publicized trial in Australia. She’s been found guilty of killing her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson. In a dramatic climax to the “Mushroom Trial,” Patterson was convicted. In a separate yet similar case, a man named Lyle was convicted of the attempted murder of Heather’s spouse, Ian. This is the case that has gripped the public’s imagination. It has attracted massive national media attention, generating an unprecedented spotlight on the process and everyone involved.
The jury trial played out in Morwell, a beautiful Victorian country town. In order to protect the integrity of the legal process and the individuals engaged within it, cameras were prohibited. Despite this limitation, courtroom sketch artist Anita Lester personally found herself at the center of the media firestorm engulfing Erin Patterson. In 2023, Lester did not know Patterson, the public defender assigned to his first filing hearing. She only had two minutes to get a good portrait of the defendant.
In June, when the accused took the stand, Lester returned to sketch Patterson a second time. The courtroom was filled with media representatives clamoring to get the inside scoop on the fast-developing drama. Her attitude during the trial has been described as “distressing.” It was reported by Lester that she looked oftentimes “curmudgeoned” throughout the hearing.
“I think you have to be as honest as you can.” – Anita Lester
Anita Lester’s pencil sketches of Erin Patterson mesmerized social media. Because of this, hundreds of thousands of people have written to her urging her to drop the case. Instead of just aiming to produce a perfect likeness of her subjects, Lester aims to reflect their soul. She refers to her process as one that allows fragility and complexity to be exposed.
“When the lines are a bit blurred, you are privy to seeing something more vulnerable and almost childlike.” – Anita Lester
I know, probably more than anyone, how emotionally charged this trial was. Additionally, she set out to show Patterson’s complicated mental condition when she was in court. The artist noted that she felt a pang of sympathy for Patterson, stating, “I just wanted to focus on her. She was so distressed this day in court. I actually felt a bit bad for her, if I’m being totally honest.”
Lester wanted to spotlight the pressure that she experienced while drawing Patterson as she stepped up to the witness stand. The energy inside the courtroom was electric with expectation. Lester was experiencing a real adrenaline rush as he headed into this crucial juncture of the trial.
“The adrenaline is so high when the suspect walks out onto the stand. You suddenly get mounted with so much pressure.” – Anita Lester
Yet the public’s obsession with Erin Patterson’s trial didn’t stop there—it only deepened as the story unfolded each day in court. In the wake of her conviction, much has been said about what this all means for Patterson, as well as for those in her orbit.
Lester noted how her participation in this case has changed the arc of her life. “That was just a tiny little snippet of my life, but now I’m intrinsically tied to this conversation,” she said. The artist acknowledged the bitter irony of being attached to such a high-profile case. Most importantly, she experienced the effects it had on her work and personal identity.
“It’s wild, it’s two hours of my life [that] has become the thing that I am now associated with, which is so weird.” – Anita Lester
Looking back on her comment, Lester recognized that at first, she was spending too much energy on making sure everything was technically accurate. Instead, she began to focus on the emotional core of her subjects and ultimately learned to put that ahead.
“If I’m being critical about my earlier drawings, I was fixating a lot on trying to get accurate representations of the person.” – Anita Lester
As Erin Patterson waits for her sentence, questions surrounding the high-profile case linger for those who have been closely following it. Anita Lester’s courtroom sketches immaculately render a stormy scene in an unsteady trial for the ages. More than anything, they remind us of the rich tapestry of complex human emotions that play out in courtrooms across the country every day.
