4 hours ago
Last Updated:September 08, 2025, 08:03 IST
In July 2023, Patterson invited all three victims on lunch and served them beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms.
Erin Patterson, the Australian woman who killed three in July 2023, has been sentenced to life imprisonment. (Credits: AFP)
Erin Patterson has been sentenced to life imprisonment with parole after 33 years in connection with the murder of three people with toxic mushrooms. The 50-year-old has been convicted of killing Gail Patterson and Donald Patterson, the parents of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson. She killed all three with a lunch laced with toxic mushrooms.
The incident dates back to July 2023, when Patterson invited all the victims to lunch and served them beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms, reported AFP. The murders have also been infamously referred to as “mushroom murders" across the world.
While giving the verdict, Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale said she had inflicted “trauma" on her victims and their families.
“Your failure to exhibit any remorse pours salt into all the victims’ wounds," he said.
“The gravity of your offending warrants the imposition of the maximum penalties for your crimes," he said.
Patterson’s relationship with her husband had grown sour at that time. The estranged couple were fighting over Simon’s child support contributions.
According to the report by AFP, Patterson has maintained during a trial lasting more than two months that the dish served was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms, the world’s most lethal fungus.
While Patterson was sentenced to life imprisonment, the judge said that she will be eligible for parole after 33 years.
Simon had also been invited to the fateful lunch, but pulled out on the eve of the meal, texting his estranged wife that he felt “uncomfortable" attending.
She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Ian, Wilkinson’s husband.
Ian says he feels “half alive" without his wife.
“The silence in our home is a daily reminder. I continue to carry a heavy burden of grief over her untimely death," he was quoted as saying by AFP.
The motive behind the murder yet remains unclear.
Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can follow her...Read More
Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can follow her...
Read More
First Published:
September 08, 2025, 07:56 IST
News world Australian Woman, Who Killed In-Laws With Poisonous Mushrooms, Sentenced To Life Imprisonment
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