She's guilty of all charges. Tripple murder and an attempted murder.
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33 minutes ago.
Updated 2 minutes ago
Erin Patterson has been found guilty of deliberately using a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms to kill the elderly relatives of her estranged husband.
The triple-murderer will likely spend most – if not all – of the rest of her life behind bars after a jury found she knowingly killed her in-laws, Donald Patterson and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, with the poisoned food, and attempted to kill Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who ate the meal but survived.
A jury of five women and seven men today returned a guilty verdict in the Victorian Supreme Court sitting in Morwell, finding prosecutors proved beyond reasonable doubt the Leongatha mushroom cook used the meal tainted with the lethal dose of the deadly mushrooms in a calculated and sinister attempt to take their lives.
Patterson will be sentenced by judge Christopher Beale at a later date.
Digitally Recreated Artist Impression
In her closing address, senior prosecutor Nanette Rogers told the jury Patterson told elaborate lies - including faking a cancer diagnosis - to lure the elderly relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, into her home.
Dr Rogers categorised the key pillars of the prosecution case as “four calculated deceptions”.
Firstly, she said Patterson lied about having cancer and used this an excuse to invite her guests for an “unusual” lunch at her home.
Next, Dr Rogers said, she disguised lethal doses of poisonous mushrooms as home-cooked beef Wellington parcels.
Don Patterson died after an attempted liver transplant, while both women were too unwell by the time the complex surgery was considered. Ian Wilkinson fell into a coma, underwent surgery on his abdomen, and was not discharged to a rehabilitation ward until about six weeks after eating the meal.
Patterson experienced some diarrhoea and nausea after the lunch, and was released from hospital within two days.
Patterson had always maintained she never intended to kill anyone with tainted food.
During trial, Patterson forfeited her right to silence and gave evidence in her defence.
She told the jury she had long-suffered from issues relating to body image and self-esteem, and made herself vomit after the beef Wellington.
In his closing, defence counsel Colin Mandy SC said a variety of factors – including weight, age and vomiting – could have contributed to her becoming less ill than her lunch guests.
But Dr Rogers told the jury there was “no evidence” that Patterson’s vomiting could have prevented her from falling as ill as her lunch guests.
“You simply have no evidence that the accused’s claim that she vomited could, or even might, have prevented her from falling seriously ill,” she said, and Patterson was “vague on when she vomited and what she vomited up”.
Dr Rogers also said it was “notable” Patterson “did not tell a single medical person over the course of her time in hospital … she had vomited some time after the lunch”.
Patterson’s murder trial was heard in the Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell, 155km east of Melbourne, before a jury of seven men and five women.
The Australian was the first to break the story of the mass poisoning on August 5, 2023. On the same morning police raided Patterson’s house in Leongatha and later interviewed her.
Two days later, the Homicide Squad confirmed Patterson was the sole suspect in the case amid questions over why she did not fall seriously ill after the meal. Police also were privately questioning why she wore white pants the day after the lunch when she said she was suffering from rolling bouts of diarrhoea.
The crown did not put forward a motive to the jury for why Patterson killed her guests.
However, Dr Rogers suggested Patterson’s relationship with Don and Gail Patterson broke down in late 2022 when they refused to take her side in an argument she was having with their son about child support.
Ian Wilkinson, right, survived the ordeal and testified against Patterson. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele
She suggested Patterson had “two faces”: a public face when she pretended to have a good relationship with her in-laws, and a private face which she showed to her Facebook friends when describing Don and Gail as a “lost cause” and Simon as a “deadbeat”.
Mr Mandy argued the messages to her Facebook friends were indicative of a short period of frustration in an otherwise happy relationship.
Digital forensic evidence formed part of the prosecution case, including internet searches about death cap mushrooms made a year before the lunch and retrieved from Patterson’s computer.
Police were unable to locate what prosecutors believed to be Patterson’s primary phone, which she allegedly used to look up the location of deadly mushrooms on the iNaturalist nature sharing forum in the weeks before the lunch.
The prosecution used cell phone tower data to allege she visited nearby Outtrim and Loch after mycologist Tom May and retired pharmacist Christine McKenzie reported death cap mushroom sightings on the iNaturalist website.
The crown alleged she gave a “dummy” phone to police when asked to hand over her device. She admitted to performing multiple factory resets of the phone, including when it was in the police lock-up.
The fatal lunch occurred at Leongatha, about 140km southeast of Melbourne, and the fallout attracted global interest. Most global media outlets have reported on the case, attracted to the unusual nature of the allegations.
Patterson has been in jail since November 2023, at a women’s prison in Melbourne’s outer-western suburbs.
Erin Patterson found guilty of poisonous mushroom murders
ELLIE DUDLEY and JOHN FERGUSONGift this article
33 minutes ago.
Updated 2 minutes ago
Erin Patterson has been found guilty of deliberately using a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms to kill the elderly relatives of her estranged husband.
The triple-murderer will likely spend most – if not all – of the rest of her life behind bars after a jury found she knowingly killed her in-laws, Donald Patterson and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, with the poisoned food, and attempted to kill Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who ate the meal but survived.
A jury of five women and seven men today returned a guilty verdict in the Victorian Supreme Court sitting in Morwell, finding prosecutors proved beyond reasonable doubt the Leongatha mushroom cook used the meal tainted with the lethal dose of the deadly mushrooms in a calculated and sinister attempt to take their lives.
Patterson will be sentenced by judge Christopher Beale at a later date.
Digitally Recreated Artist Impression
In her closing address, senior prosecutor Nanette Rogers told the jury Patterson told elaborate lies - including faking a cancer diagnosis - to lure the elderly relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, into her home.
Dr Rogers categorised the key pillars of the prosecution case as “four calculated deceptions”.
Firstly, she said Patterson lied about having cancer and used this an excuse to invite her guests for an “unusual” lunch at her home.
Next, Dr Rogers said, she disguised lethal doses of poisonous mushrooms as home-cooked beef Wellington parcels.
Don Patterson died after an attempted liver transplant, while both women were too unwell by the time the complex surgery was considered. Ian Wilkinson fell into a coma, underwent surgery on his abdomen, and was not discharged to a rehabilitation ward until about six weeks after eating the meal.
Patterson experienced some diarrhoea and nausea after the lunch, and was released from hospital within two days.
Patterson had always maintained she never intended to kill anyone with tainted food.
During trial, Patterson forfeited her right to silence and gave evidence in her defence.
She told the jury she had long-suffered from issues relating to body image and self-esteem, and made herself vomit after the beef Wellington.
In his closing, defence counsel Colin Mandy SC said a variety of factors – including weight, age and vomiting – could have contributed to her becoming less ill than her lunch guests.
But Dr Rogers told the jury there was “no evidence” that Patterson’s vomiting could have prevented her from falling as ill as her lunch guests.
“You simply have no evidence that the accused’s claim that she vomited could, or even might, have prevented her from falling seriously ill,” she said, and Patterson was “vague on when she vomited and what she vomited up”.
Dr Rogers also said it was “notable” Patterson “did not tell a single medical person over the course of her time in hospital … she had vomited some time after the lunch”.
Patterson’s murder trial was heard in the Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell, 155km east of Melbourne, before a jury of seven men and five women.
The Australian was the first to break the story of the mass poisoning on August 5, 2023. On the same morning police raided Patterson’s house in Leongatha and later interviewed her.
Two days later, the Homicide Squad confirmed Patterson was the sole suspect in the case amid questions over why she did not fall seriously ill after the meal. Police also were privately questioning why she wore white pants the day after the lunch when she said she was suffering from rolling bouts of diarrhoea.
The crown did not put forward a motive to the jury for why Patterson killed her guests.
However, Dr Rogers suggested Patterson’s relationship with Don and Gail Patterson broke down in late 2022 when they refused to take her side in an argument she was having with their son about child support.
Ian Wilkinson, right, survived the ordeal and testified against Patterson. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele
She suggested Patterson had “two faces”: a public face when she pretended to have a good relationship with her in-laws, and a private face which she showed to her Facebook friends when describing Don and Gail as a “lost cause” and Simon as a “deadbeat”.
Mr Mandy argued the messages to her Facebook friends were indicative of a short period of frustration in an otherwise happy relationship.
Digital forensic evidence formed part of the prosecution case, including internet searches about death cap mushrooms made a year before the lunch and retrieved from Patterson’s computer.
Police were unable to locate what prosecutors believed to be Patterson’s primary phone, which she allegedly used to look up the location of deadly mushrooms on the iNaturalist nature sharing forum in the weeks before the lunch.
The prosecution used cell phone tower data to allege she visited nearby Outtrim and Loch after mycologist Tom May and retired pharmacist Christine McKenzie reported death cap mushroom sightings on the iNaturalist website.
The crown alleged she gave a “dummy” phone to police when asked to hand over her device. She admitted to performing multiple factory resets of the phone, including when it was in the police lock-up.
The fatal lunch occurred at Leongatha, about 140km southeast of Melbourne, and the fallout attracted global interest. Most global media outlets have reported on the case, attracted to the unusual nature of the allegations.
Patterson has been in jail since November 2023, at a women’s prison in Melbourne’s outer-western suburbs.
