Mushroom Murder Trial: Erin Patterson Sentenced to Life for Triple Murder in Landmark Australian Case

Historic Verdict in Australia’s ‘Trial of the Century’

An Australian court has handed down a life sentence to Erin Patterson, who was found guilty of killing her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Gail and Donald Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them a lunch of Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms.

The Fatal Lunch

On July 29, 2023, Patterson hosted her former in-laws for lunch at her home in Leongatha, 135km southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. Her guests included her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson; father-in-law, Donald Patterson; Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson; and Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson.

The court heard that Patterson had purchased a dehydrator on April 28, the same day cellphone signals placed her near death cap mushrooms. The dehydrator, later found dumped at a waste recycling center on August 2, contained her fingerprints and remnants of death cap mushrooms.

Prosecution and Verdict

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC presented “four calculated deceptions” at the heart of the case: a fabricated cancer claim used to arrange the lunch, lethal doses of poison secretly added to the beef Wellingtons, attempts to fake mushroom poisoning symptoms, and a sustained cover-up to hide the truth.

Justice Beale noted that Patterson’s offenses required “substantial premeditation” and involved an “elaborate cover-up” when her initial deceptions failed. The judge confirmed that by July 16, 2023, Patterson had planned to kill all the lunch guests when she unusually invited them to discuss her non-existent medical issue.

Sentencing and Impact

The court sentenced Patterson to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years. The 50-year-old was also convicted of attempting to murder Wilkinson’s husband, Ian, who spent weeks in hospital but survived.

The case made history as the first sentence hearing in Victoria to be broadcast live and attracted significant Australian and international media attention. British current affairs magazine The Spectator described it as Australia’s “trial of the century.”

The case’s cultural impact continues to grow, with ABC confirming work on a true crime drama series about Patterson called ‘Toxic’, to be produced by Tony Ayres and written by Elise McCredie, with ABC journalist Rachael Brown serving as a consultant.