Infamous mushroom murderer Erin Patterson has lived in a prison separation unit for the past 14 months with access to entertainment equipment, including crochet materials, a computer, television, and books, a court has heard.

Dressed in a brown shirt and cardigan with her hands cuffed in front of her waist, Patterson, 50, was accompanied by police and prison officers as she was taken from Dame Phyllis Frost Correctional Centre to the Supreme Court of Melbourne on Monday for a pre-sentencing hearing.

It comes after Patterson was last month convicted of three murders and one attempted murder over a death cap mushroom-laced beef Wellington she served to her estranged husband’s family in 2023.

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Prosecutors are spending the hearing arguing how long Patterson should be jailed for the offences, while her defence team will explain any factors that should mitigate the length of her sentence.

Jenny Hosking, the assistant commissioner for the sentence management division at Corrections Victoria, appeared in court via video link on Monday, where she was asked questions about Patterson’s time in jail.

The court heard, since Patterson was taken into custody in November 2023, that she had spent time in a communal part of the jail, in a protective unit (Murray Unit), and a separation unit (Gordon Unit).

Hosking said women in the Murray Unit are able to move more freely, interact with each other and work at a factory during the day, while the Gordon Unit is more restrictive.

Patterson was moved to the Murray Unit in December 2023, before she was transferred to the Gordon Unit for about a week in March 2024 due to safety concerns stemming from media.

On June 9, 2024, she was moved due to similar safety concerns from the Murray Unit back to the Gordon Unit — where she has remained ever since.

Under questioning from the prosecution, Hosking told the court Patterson is subject to an “intensive” case management plan, which contains details such as possible risks posed to her, risks she may post to others, her needs and other things staff members may need to be aware of.

Hosking said Patterson was allowed a minimum of an hour outside of her cell each day and had access to personal visits.

She said Patterson also engaged with forensic intervention services — a business unit within corrections which is for offence-specific treatment.

“Ms Patterson was offered those services and did engage for distress services and is still able to access that,” Hosking said.

The court heard Patterson also has access to the prison’s Chaplain centre, but has chosen not to engage.

Under her management plan, she also has access to a library and leisure centre — the latter of which she is entitled to attend twice per week depending on requirements.

Hosking said there is also a lounge area with a treadmill in the Gordon Unit, which Patterson is able to access twice per day.

Patterson also has an open air space via the rear of her cell, which opens up to an exercise area, which she can request access to, Hosking said.

Asked by the prosecution what items Patterson has in her cell, Hosking said she had “normal cell provisions” such as a television and room for personal items.

“I understand she is a keen crocheter and has a lot of wool and equipment in there,” Hosking said.

“She has her computer — that is in her cell.

“She has her own pillows, blankets she has crocheted, books, magazines, toiletries, hair straightener, and a fan.”

The prosecution asked Hosking how Patterson’s prison arrangements would change once she is sentenced, with the corrections official responding that Patterson’s cell will stay the same.

“But there will be limited access to education because for a person on remand it is unclear how long they will be in custody,” Hosking explained.

“Once she is sentenced, she will have more access to education services ... Tertiary studies can be done by distant education.”

The court heard Patterson had reported that low staff numbers had resulted in some of her services being restricted, including limited access to the library — a point to which Hosking agreed.

The prosecution told the court Patterson said access to her exercise area at the back of her cell has also been restricted, but Hosking said Patterson can ask to have that opened.

The court heard Patterson also has communication yard access with another woman in custody, where they can both go into their respective exercise yards and talk.

Hosking said Patterson also has the option to have intercommunication between cells if she wishes to.

The court heard Patterson said prisoners are not allowed to have contact with other prisoners and that she has had barely any contact with fellow inmates since being transferred to the Gordon Unit.

Hosking agreed Patterson hasn’t had as much contact with other prisoners in the Gordon Unit as contact is not permitted until assessments have been completed to assess situational factors, such as prisoners’ safety.

The court earlier heard victim impact statements from the sole survivor of the lunch, Ian Wilkinson, who lost his wife Heather, and Patterson’s estranged husband Simon, whose parents Don and Gail died days after the meal.

Other family members — including the Wilkinsons’ daughter, Ruth Dubois, Heather and Gail’s sister Lynette Young, and Don’s mother, Martha, brother, Colin, and nephew, Tim — also provided statements to the court.

The Pattersons and Wilkinsons, who attended much of the trial, have not been seen in court since before the jury returned verdicts on July 7 following a near-11 week trial in the Victorian Gippsland town of Morwell.

Ian Wilkinson attended the Supreme Court on Monday to personally deliver his victim impact statement.

Patterson deliberately served up the poisoned dish during lunch at her Leongatha home in 2023, to her former mother and father-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian.

Her lunch guests were taken to hospital, with Don, Gail and Heather dying days after the meal.

She invited her estranged husband, Simon, to the deadly gathering, but he declined the night before.

Jurors were not told the reason he did not attend, with that information revealed weeks later after a suppression order was lifted.

Justice Christopher Beale allowed pre-trial evidence to be released for the first time.

Simon allegedly believed Patterson had been trying to kill him by poisoning meals since 2021, during or before camping trips the pair took together.

He claimed Patterson poisoned him with a penne, chicken curry and a wrap she had prepared, but she denied this and the allegations were never tested at trial.

She was charged with three counts of attempted murder, but they were dropped at the start of her trial after Justice Beale ruled they should be heard separately.

Other evidence ruled out of trial included an allegedly fake cat post to a poisoning help page, an appendix from a Criminal Poisonings book allegedly found on a tablet and an additional trip to the tip on the day of the lunch.

Patterson will be brought in person from prison to the plea hearing, which is expected to span two days.

She faces life in prison and a date for her sentence could be set at the hearing.

— With AAP