The Victorian office of public prosecutions has yet to rule out contempt charges in relation to comments made on the Kyle and Jackie O Show about the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson, four months after the co-hosts were criticised by a supreme court judge.
Justice Christopher Beale referred the comments to the office for contempt proceedings in June, after Kyle Sandilands made comments including, “just lock that bitch up” and called the case “not strong for her”.
The OPP said in a statement to Guardian Australia this week it was still considering whether to commence prosecutions in relation to the comments, as well as to a separate referral relating to comments made about Patterson during an event billed as “The Psychology of Serial Killers” at Hamer Hall in Melbourne.
“Decisions on the matters referred for potential contempt have not yet been finalised,” an OPP spokesperson said. The OPP had previously declined to comment on the referrals.
The director of public prosecutions is also considering whether to appeal against the sentence handed down to Patterson, the spokesperson said.
Such appeals are rare, but can occur if the DPP considers a sentence to be manifestly inadequate.
On 8 September, Patterson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson.
The deadline for a DPP appeal relating to Patterson’s sentence is Monday, a shorter timeframe than the defence is allowed to appeal under new guidelines being trialled by the Victorian supreme court.
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Neither ARN Media, the owner of the station Kiis FM that broadcasts The Kyle and Jackie O Show, nor the producer of the serial killers event, responded to previous requests for comment.
Separately, it was revealed this week that the Australian Communications and Media Authority was considering taking enforcement action against the Kiis network as The Kyle and Jackie O Show repeatedly aired “vulgar, sexually explicit and deeply offensive” content despite multiple warnings.
In the Patterson case, Beale told the Victorian supreme court on 16 June in the absence of the jury: “This morning the presenters of the Kyle and Jackie O radio show commented on this case during a news segment on their show.
“I have read a transcript of that commentary. I encourage all commentators to engage their brains before they open their mouths, as they may otherwise land themselves and their organisations in hot water. I will be referring this morning’s matter to the Office of Public Prosecutions for contempt proceedings.”
Guardian Australia reviewed a podcast of the show, which was available online on the afternoon Beale made his comments.
In the podcast, Sandilands said after a news item about the trial, which erroneously said the jury was expected to retire to consider its verdict that week, “Is this big lump still getting around, this big lump … miserable looking thing.
“Did she do it or what?”
His co-host, Jackie Henderson, asked soon after: “I mean, my question is: how strong is her case.”
“Not strong, not strong for her,” Sandilands responded.
The pair, and a newsreader, continued to discuss the case, including mobile phone tower evidence, and Sandilands incorrectly said: “Hasn’t she done something like this before, with the mushrooms?”
Sandilands went on to say: “But the rest of us already know, yeah, you fuck … come on, bro. You can tell by looking at her, just lock that bitch up.”
Henderson could be heard laughing while Sandilands spoke about the case, before he said: “Takes too long. Court should be in and out, decided and moved on.”
Henderson then said: “Well, until it’s your turn one day, where you’re accused, right?”
“What am I going to get accused of?” Sandilands responded.
On Thursday, lawyers for Patterson told the court she would appeal against her conviction.
