Erin Patterson, the Australian woman convicted of murdering three relatives and attempting to murder a fourth by serving them death cap mushrooms in beef Wellingtons, has sparked public anger after it emerged she has been approved for taxpayer-funded Ozempic weight-loss injections while serving her sentence. Former Neighbours actress Madeleine West led the criticism, contrasting the funded medication for a convicted killer with ordinary Australians "doing it tough", while a prison source claimed staff safety concerns are being overshadowed by attention to the inmate's weight.

Patterson, 51, is held largely in solitary confinement at Melbourne's Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and was reportedly prescribed the drug because isolation prevents her from exercising; she has previously spoken of a long history of binge eating. The subsidised jab costs around $25 a month under Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, against $134 unsubsidised, with officials stating prescriptions are only issued when clinically necessary, such as to prevent type 2 diabetes. Patterson, who denies the killings, is awaiting a Court of Appeal ruling on seven grounds of appeal against her conviction, while prosecutors are separately appealing for a harsher, whole-of-life sentence.