Australian accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has been forced into a protected unit at a women’s maximum security prison that also houses notorious paedophile and rapist Malka Leifer. 

The 49-year-old, who cooked a beef wellington dish that killed three lunch guests, was moved to the maximum security wing over mounting fears for her safety. 

She has spent four months at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne after she was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in November last year. 

9 News reported that her unit likely includes a shower, toilet, desk, closet and possible access to a kitchen. 

The Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne. 

An insider told the Herald Sun that there were fears she would be attacked by other inmates over her alleged killings. 

“If Erin got out of protection, the girls would hurt her,” they told the Herald Sun. 

“She allegedly killed three elderly people. 

“There’s a rule, you don’t touch the elderly and you don’t touch babies so, because of that, you go into protection.” 

The insider told the Herald Sun she cannot leave her unit but can walk freely around it. 

She allegedly has access to a kitchen to cook her own meals, including meats, vegetables and fruits. 

“All the stuff you can buy in Coles and Woolworths, if she feels like steak, she can make that.” 

Patterson was charged with three counts of murder last November after the deaths of her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. 

Heather Wilkinson and pastor Ian Wilkinson. 

All three died in hospital days after eating a meal containing deadly mushrooms at Patterson’s Leongatha home, in South Gippsland, on July 29 last year. 

Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson miraculously survived after he spent two months in hospital. 

Patterson is due back in court on May 3 for a committal mention where she will appear via video link. 

- NZ Herald