The KIIS FM breakfast show hosts found themselves under scrutiny by the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions on June 16, following controversial remarks made by Sandilands during a broadcast. His comment, “just lock that bitch up,” sparked significant attention.
Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale, at the time, urged those discussing the matter to think carefully before speaking, cautioning that careless words could lead to serious consequences.
However, the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions announced on Wednesday that the radio hosts would not be facing charges of contempt of court.
According to the official statement, “It has been determined that, given all the circumstances, none of the incidents clearly tended to prejudice Ms. Patterson’s fair trial on her charges.”
The statement also noted that the elements necessary to prove contempt were unlikely to be established beyond a reasonable doubt, and as such, there were no reasonable prospects of a conviction for the incidents in question.
Similarly, a Mamamia Out Loud podcast episode and a presentation by forensic psychologist Rachel Toles regarding the trial were reviewed by prosecutors, but they were also not charged.
Patterson was in July found guilty of murdering her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66.
A jury found she deliberately served beef Wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms to her lunch guests in July 2023 at her Leongatha home in regional Victoria.
She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, 69, who fell seriously ill after eating the meal but survived.
Patterson was sentenced in September to life behind bars, with a non-parole period of 33 years.
