Australian mushroom murderer sentenced to life in prison Andrea HamblinSeptember 8, 2025 at 2:36 AM 0 Erin Patterson pictured arriving at the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday Getty Images An Australian woman who murdered three elderly relatives with a poisoned beef Wellington has been sentenced t...
- - Australian mushroom murderer sentenced to life in prison
Andrea HamblinSeptember 8, 2025 at 2:36 AM
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Erin Patterson pictured arriving at the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday - Getty Images
An Australian woman who murdered three elderly relatives with a poisoned beef Wellington has been sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years.
Erin Patterson, 50, was found guilty in July of murdering her husband's parents, Gail and Don Patterson, and aunt Heather Wilkinson, in 2023 by lacing their lunch with powdered death cap mushrooms.
The mother-of-two was also found guilty of attempting to murder a fourth lunch guest, her husband's uncle Ian Wilkinson, who survived the toxic meal after undergoing a liver transplant.
Patterson, dressed in a brown cardigan, black pants and sandals, remained silent and stony faced throughout the hearing as Supreme Court of Victoria judge Christopher Beale outlined his decision.
She closed her eyes before Justice Beale ordered her to stand for the sentence – 25 years for attempted murder, and life in prison for each count of murder.
Patterson will be eligible to apply for parole when she is 81.
Patterson was escorted out of the prison van and led into the courthouse - AFP
The ruling draws to a close a criminal case that has gripped Australia – and the world.
The story has already inspired several podcasts, television dramas, and even speculation it will be made into a Netflix series after a film crew for the streaming service was seen outside court during Patterson's 10-week trial.
On Monday, dozens of people from Patterson's rural hometown of Leongatha travelled the 85 miles to Melbourne to watch the prison sentence handed down.
The case had captivated the public since August 2023 when news broke that three elderly people in the town of 5,800 had died in hospital after suffering severe gastrointestinal upset.
Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Mr Wilkinson was the sole survivor of Patterson's poison plot
In July 2023, Patterson invited her Mr and Mrs Patterson, and Mr and Mrs Wilkinson to lunch where she served them beef Wellington on individual plates.
Hours after the lunch, all four became violently ill and were admitted to hospital with acute liver damage.
Gail, 70, and her younger sister Heather, 66, died on August 4 2023 – less than a week after the lunch. Don, 70, underwent a last-minute liver transplant but died of multiple organ failure the day after the operation.
Ian, a local pastor, was the sole survivor after receiving an organ transplant and spending seven weeks in hospital.
He became a critical witness in the trial at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Morwell, which has been dubbed Australia's trial of the century.
Patterson was initially charged with trying to murder her husband, with police preparing to allege in court that she hid rat bait and other poisons in his food prior to the deadly lunch.
Police dropped those charges at the start of her murder trial after a magistrate questioned the strength of the evidence.
Justice Beale noted that Patterson's crimes were premeditated and further aggravated by the "elaborate" cover-up which began when she refused to tell doctors that the meal she prepared had contained toxic funghi.
The deception denied her victims the chance to receive potentially life-saving treatment for the poison, he said.
Justice Beale said she had "showed no pity" for the four elderly relatives as medical staff urged her to tell them the ingredients of the meal.
"Your failure to exhibit any remorse pours salt into the victim's wounds," he added.
The beef Wellington that Patterson served her guests
The prosecution had argued that Patterson's crimes were so severe that she should receive a maximum life sentence with no hope of parole.
Patterson's lawyers argued that she should be eligible for parole, noting the "harsher than usual" prison conditions by being locked away in isolation for 22 hours each day because her "high profile" made her a target for other prisoners.
Justice Beale agreed, noting the adverse health impacts of isolation.
Patterson had always maintained her innocence and insisted that she unknowingly used toxi funghi to prepare the family meal.
The motive for the "senseless" crimes was never established, Justice Beale told the court on Monday.
"Only you know why you committed them," he said to Patterson.
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