On 7/7, after a 9-week trial at the Supreme Court of Victoria, a jury found 49-year-old Erin Patterson guilty of three counts of murder. She faces a life sentence, but a sentencing date has not been set.

Patterson, seated in the dock, showed little emotion, only blinking rapidly as the guilty verdict was read.

Erin Patterson arrives at court in Melbourne in April. Photo: Reuters

Erin Patterson arrives at court in Melbourne in April. Photo: Reuters

According to court documents, Patterson was convicted of lacing a beef wellington with highly toxic death cap mushrooms, killing her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson (both 70), and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, on 29/7/2023. She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, who survived.

Don, Gail, and Heather died within a week of the fateful lunch. Ian fell into a coma and later required a liver transplant.

Prosecutors did not offer a motive for the killings, but highlighted a strained relationship between Patterson and her estranged husband, along with her past frustrations with her in-laws.

The case hinged on whether Patterson meticulously planned the poisoning or if the deaths were accidental. Her lawyer argued she had no reason to commit the crime, citing her recent move to a new home, comfortable financial situation, sole custody of her children, and plans to study nursing and midwifery.

Patterson pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintaining the deaths were a tragic accident. She claimed to have unintentionally used death cap mushrooms while preparing the meal. She said she didn't become ill like the others because she vomited after the meal due to an eating disorder.

However, prosecutors alleged Patterson feigned a cancer diagnosis as a pretext to invite her in-laws over.

According to the prosecution, Patterson changed the beef wellington recipe from a family-style serving to individual portions, enabling her to add the deadly mushrooms to the guests' meals while omitting them from her own. The prosecution also pointed to several suspicious actions by Patterson: taking her children to the movies before the guests arrived, adding dried mushrooms to the recipe, discarding a food dehydrator after the incident, and lying to investigators.

Patterson initially told investigators she bought the dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery store in Melbourne, but couldn't specify the location. She claimed she had never gone mushroom picking and didn't own a food dehydrator.

In reality, Patterson had been regularly foraging for mushrooms since 2020 and had considerable experience. Days after the incident, surveillance footage captured her discarding a food dehydrator at a local landfill.

Erin Patterson's house, where the poisoning took place. Photo: Alamy

Erin Patterson's house, where the poisoning took place. Photo: Alamy

Prosecutors described Patterson as two-faced, outwardly maintaining a good relationship with her in-laws while harboring private resentment towards them. Her relationship with her husband, Simon Patterson, had deteriorated since 2022. Simon was also invited to the lunch but did not attend.

In the days following the lunch, Patterson lied to paramedics, doctors, and police, hindering efforts to trace the source of the poisoning and save the victims.

During the investigation, police also alleged Patterson may have attempted to poison Simon on three separate occasions between 2021 and 2022. Simon claimed he nearly died from a mysterious illness that left him in a coma for 16 days, prompting doctors to urge his family to say goodbye twice.

Death cap mushrooms. Photo: Nine

Death cap mushrooms. Photo: Nine

"Death cap" mushrooms, also known as amanita phalloides, are the world's most poisonous mushroom, responsible for about 90% of mushroom-related deaths, according to AFP. Death cap mushrooms are brown and white, easily mistaken for other varieties.

According to toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos, these mushrooms are filled with deadly chemicals called amatoxins, which cause diarrhea, vomiting, and discomfort, with conditions worsening if the toxins are not removed.

Tue Anh (according to CBS, Sun)