Mushroom killer sentenced to life for poisoning family

Erin Patterson, the Australian woman who murdered three of her estranged husband's family by poisoning them with death cap mushrooms, has been sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years.

- NAMITA SINGH

The 50-year-old was found guilty in July of killing parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, with a lunch of beef wellington laced with foraged death cap mushrooms. She was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who spent weeks in a hospital.

Justice Beale told the Victoria state Supreme Court Patterson’s crimes involved an enormous betrayal of trust. “Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had all been good to you and your children over many years, as you acknowledged in your testimony,” Justice Beale said.

She will serve a life sentence concurrently with a 25-year sentence for the attempted murder of Mr Wilkinson. Patterson was found guilty after an 11-week trial.

Patterson denied poisoning deliberately and contended that she had no reason to murder her elderly in-laws. But the jury rejected her defence that the inclusion of toxic mushrooms in the meal was a terrible accident.

The hearing was broadcast live from Melbourne’s Supreme Court, reflecting intense public interest in a case that has gripped Australia, spawning multiple podcasts and documentaries.

Sentencing Patterson, Justice Beale said her offences involved “substantial premeditation” and an “elaborate cover-up” after she realised her initial lies would not work.