Australian Woman Found Guilty of Killing Family Members with Poisonous Mushrooms

Erin Patterson has been found guilty of murdering three of her estranged husband’s relatives by serving them a fatal meal laced with death cap mushrooms.

A jury at the Supreme Court in Victoria delivered the unanimous verdict on Monday after six days of deliberation, concluding a high-profile nine-week trial that captivated the nation. Patterson now faces life imprisonment, with sentencing to be announced later.

The victims — Don and Gail Patterson (her former in-laws), and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson — died after eating individual beef Wellington pastries served during a lunch at Patterson’s home in Leongatha in 2023. Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, also became critically ill but survived. Patterson was also found guilty of attempting to murder him.

While it was not contested that she prepared the meal and served the mushrooms, the jury was tasked with determining if she knowingly included the poisonous fungi and intended harm. The court ultimately rejected her claim that it was a tragic accident, caused by mistakenly using foraged mushrooms she didn’t recognize as deadly.

Prosecutors argued that Patterson’s relationships with her in-laws were strained and pointed to inconsistencies in her actions, such as her disposal of a food dehydrator after the incident and sending her children to the cinema before the fatal lunch. Although they did not provide a clear motive, they suggested she harbored hidden resentment despite appearing cordial publicly.

Throughout the trial, Patterson’s defense maintained that she had no reason to commit the crime, highlighting her stable life — she had full custody of her children, was financially secure, and had plans to begin a nursing and midwifery degree.

Patterson admitted to lying about not owning a dehydrator and never foraging mushrooms but said she panicked after realizing the meal had deadly consequences. She also denied feigning illness or telling her guests she had cancer to lure them to lunch.

The case, which has dominated headlines and drawn widespread public attention, ended with tight security and black privacy screens outside Patterson’s residence. Courtroom seats in Morwell were filled daily as Australians followed the gripping saga of what prosecutors called a “calculated act of murder.”