Australian woman found guilty of murder after serving poisonous mushrooms to in-laws for lunch

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jul 07, 2025 4:52 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

An Australian pistillate was connected Monday convicted of murdering 3 aged relatives of her estranged hubby with a repast laced with poisonous mushrooms, successful a lawsuit that has gripped the country.

Erin Patterson, 50, was charged with the murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, on with the attempted execution of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband.

The 4 gathered astatine Erin Patterson's location successful Leongatha, a municipality of astir 6,000 radical immoderate 135 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, wherever the parent of 2 served them a repast of idiosyncratic Beef Wellingtons accompanied by mashed murphy and greenish beans, which were aboriginal recovered to incorporate decease headdress mushrooms.

On Monday, the assemblage successful the lawsuit recovered her blameworthy of each 4 charges, the tribunal heard successful Morwell, a municipality astir 2 hours eastbound of Melbourne wherever the proceedings was being held.

Her barrister, Colin Mandy, made nary remark arsenic helium near the tribunal done a scrum of journalists.

Jessica O'Donnell, a spokesperson for Patterson's estranged husband, Simon Patterson and his siblings, besides declined to comment.

Dean Thomas, a detective with Victoria Police, thanked investigators for their enactment connected the case.

"I deliberation it's precise important that we retrieve that 3 radical person died, and we've had a idiosyncratic that astir died and was earnestly injured," helium said successful a little connection extracurricular the court.

The families of the victims had requested privateness and would not beryllium making a statement, helium added.

Patterson, who had pleaded not blameworthy to each charges, saying the deaths were accidental, volition beryllium sentenced astatine a aboriginal date.

The 10-week proceedings attracted immense planetary interest, with section and planetary media descending connected Court 4 astatine the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court successful Morwell, the nearest tribunal to Patterson's location wherever she had requested to beryllium tried, contempt being warned of lengthy delays.

State broadcaster ABC's regular podcast connected proceedings was consistently among the astir fashionable successful Australia during the trial, portion respective documentaries connected the lawsuit are already successful production.

Shifting explanations 

Patterson, 50, grew up successful Melbourne, the girl of an academic. She qualified arsenic an aerial postulation controller and had been accepted to survey nursing astatine the clip of her arrest, aft a beingness marred by a tempestuous matrimony and problems with her value and debased self-esteem, the tribunal heard.

Patterson, who said during the proceedings she had inherited ample sums of wealth from her parent and grandmother, retained a four-person ineligible team, led by Colin Mandy, 1 of Melbourne's apical transgression barristers.

She was the lone witnesser successful her defence, spending 8 days connected the stand, including 5 days of cross-examination.

The prosecution, led by barrister Nanette Rogers, told the tribunal that Patterson had employed 4 large deceptions successful bid to execution her guests.

She archetypal fabricated a crab diagnosis to lure the guests to the lunch, poisoning their meals portion serving herself an untainted portion, Rogers told the court.

Patterson past lied that she was besides sick from the nutrient to debar suspicion, earlier yet embarking connected a cover-up erstwhile constabulary began investigating the deaths, attempting to destruct grounds and lying to police, the prosecution said.

She had lied astir having crab not to lure the guests to the luncheon to termination them, but due to the fact that she was looking for their assistance with telling her children and was embarrassed to accidental that she really planned to person value nonaccomplishment surgery, she told the court.

Patterson had besides not go arsenic sick arsenic her luncheon guests due to the fact that she secretly binged connected a barroom brought by her mother-in-law and past purged herself, she told the court.

Patterson initially told constabulary she had bought the mushrooms utilized successful the repast from a section supermarket, earlier past saying she had got them from an Asian grocer successful Melbourne. A 2023 hunt of Asian grocers successful the metropolis recovered nary grounds decease headdress mushrooms had been sold. During the trial, Patterson said she whitethorn person foraged for the mushrooms but did not yet cognize wherever they had travel from.