A series of leaked internal emails has revealed that ABC News Editorial Policy Manager Mark Maley ordered journalists not to publish “unflattering” photos of Erin Patterson, a woman convicted of murdering three people, out of concern they might cause her emotional “distress”.

Go Ad Free

The taxpayer-funded images, captured in May by international agency Agence France-Presse, showed Patterson being led into Latrobe Valley court in Morwell. Legal restrictions had initially blocked their release, but those lapsed following Patterson’s conviction on Monday for the murders of her ex-husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and family friend Heather Wilkinson. She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson.

Despite the photos being taken legally in public, and made available to global media, Maley instructed ABC producers not to use them. “Gratuitous invasion on her distress/privacy,” he described them in an internal email, according to media reports.

ABC’s 7.30 executive producer Joel Tozer pushed back, arguing the images were vital for coverage of a highly significant, visually restricted case. “No one has been able to see (Patterson) for the past 10 weeks,” Tozer wrote.

Erin Patterson was just convicted of murdering three people

The Australian public broadcaster ABC tried to shut down these photos because they thought they were an “invasion of privacy”

Seriously why do so many progressives just instinctually sympathise with criminals? pic.twitter.com/6KgLtTnBDZ

— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) July 8, 2025

ABC’s Victorian news editor Sarah Jaensch also rejected Maley’s reasoning, saying, “While it’s far from a flattering picture, she is now a convicted triple murderer… If we are not using any vision of her distressed, we wouldn’t use the vision of her crying on her doorstep, which was used many times before she was a convicted murderer.”

Ultimately, ABC Digital Chief Grant Sherlock overruled Maley, approving four photos for publication while prohibiting two others.

The ABC declined to confirm how much it paid for the images, which were reportedly priced between $7,000 and $10,000 depending on the package. A spokesperson said the ABC applies “much care and consideration” to editorial decisions “to ensure our coverage is responsible, justified and meets community expectations.”