Australian Woman Convicted of Poisonous Mushroom Murders

Erin Patterson, an Australian woman, was found guilty of murdering three elderly relatives of her estranged husband by serving them a meal laced with deadly death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha. The victims were her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, all of whom died after consuming the poisonous beef Wellington meal in July 2023. Patterson was also convicted of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, who survived the poisoning. The trial, held in Victoria, lasted about ten weeks and drew significant international media attention. Patterson denied the charges, claiming the deaths were accidental, but the jury concluded that she deliberately included the mushrooms with intent to kill. She faces life imprisonment and will be sentenced at a later date.