He was gagged in court for sharing all the gruesome details of his time married to murderer Erin Patterson.
But, as the heinous killer remains locked up in the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre for killing three relatives, her estranged husband Simon Patterson will finally have his say in a tell-all memoir that could net him $1 million.
“He will allow his story to be told through the book and that’s how he wants his words to be heard,” Simon’s spokesperson Jessica O’Donnell told The Guardian.
“I would imagine there will be a lot of people who would like to understand Simon’s point of view.”
FIRST TIME SPEAKING OUT
Details of the memoir and publisher will be revealed in the coming weeks, but Simon, who criticised the media intrusion into his private life during the case, “won’t be communicating at any point in time”.
A publishing insider tells Woman’s Day Simon could net a huge payday.
“This announcement is probably a way to throw a line out and get a publisher on board,” says the source.
“Some of the biggest stories over the last five years may have had an advance of close to $1 million, but I don’t think he has the profile compared to those stories.”
Last July, Patterson, 50, was found guilty of killing her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson – as well as the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson.
She famously served them a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms after luring them to a family lunch at her home in Leongatha, Victoria in July 2023.
In September, Patterson was sentenced to life in prison with non-parole period of 33 years – which she is appealing, claiming there was a “substantial miscarriage of justice” during her Supreme Court trial.
While the memoir marks the first time Simon has spoken about the case publicly, he’s previously expressed frustration at not being able to talk during the trial about the four attempted murder charges relating to himself.
Between 2021 and 2022, Patterson was accused of attempting to kill Simon on four occasions using food laced with poison, but these charges were dropped last August due to a lack of evidence.
“I’m sitting here, half thinking about the things I’m not allowed to talk about and I understand – I don’t actually understand why,” Patterson said during the trial.
“It seems bizarre to me. But it is what it is.”
HIS SIDE OF THE STORY
The insider believes this might be motivating Simon.
“I think he’s using the memoir as an opportunity to air his own story and grievances,” they note.
And while it’s possible the murderer herself could one day pen a prison memoir, she won’t see any payment for her time or work.
“Patterson cannont financially benefit from a book,” says the insider.
“It’s against the proceeds of crime legislation.”
