Woman sentenced to life in prison for killing family members with mushrooms
The Victoria Court in Melbourne (Australia) sentenced Erin Patterson on Monday to three life sentences for the murder of her ex-husband's former in-laws and aunt, and also to a 25-year prison sentence for the attempted murder of her ex-husband's uncle, at a lunch where she served poisonous mushrooms.
"The devastating impact of his crimes is not limited to his direct victims. His crimes harmed many people," the judge said, adding: "Not only did he take three lives and cause permanent damage to the health of Ian Wilkinson [the ex-husband's uncle], thus devastating the Patterson and Wilkinson families, but he also inflicted unspeakable suffering on his own children, from whom he robbed them of their beloved grandparents."
Erin Patterson had been found guilty in July of the murders of her former in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, as well as her ex-husband's aunt, Heather, in the town of Leongatha, 135 kilometers southeast of Melbourne. During a lunch at home in July 2023, Erin prepared and served an English specialty, beef Wellington, containing death cap—one of the world's most dangerous poisonous mushrooms . Her ex-husband, Simon Patterson, declined the lunch invitation.
Jury finds Australian woman guilty of killing family members with poisonous mushrooms
According to the BBC , Erin Patterson, who claimed her innocence and that the mushroom poisoning was accidental, did not react to the announcement of the sentence.
"He engaged in an elaborate cover-up of his guilt. His failure to show any remorse was like pouring salt into the wounds of all his victims ," the judge added, emphasizing that he "showed no mercy for his victims."
The court declined to speculate on the defendant's motives. According to Al Jazeera , Erin Patterson allegedly pretended to have been diagnosed with cancer as a reason to gather her former relatives, under the pretext of seeking advice on how to break the news to her two children, who were not present at the luncheon. Erin married Simon Patterson in 2007 and the couple had two children, separating in 2015, although the BBC reports that they remain legally married and that their relationship was marked by tension.
One of the most relevant testimonies of the trial was that of the sole survivor of the luncheon, who even forgave Erin Patterson for the attempted murder . Ian Wilkinson stated that the guests were served on gray plates, while Erin ate her meal on an orange plate , presumably to ensure she wouldn't eat the food laced with poisonous mushrooms.
In reading the ruling—which had already established the defendant's guilt in July and left only the sentence to be imposed undefined—Judge Christopher Beale also ruled that Erin Patterson, 50, is ineligible for parole for at least 33 years. In other words, she can only be released from prison when she is over 81 years old (the events occurred just over two years ago).
According to the BBC, the Australian Public Prosecutor's Office wanted to apply the country's maximum sentence — life imprisonment without the right to release on parole — but the judge took into account the fact that the defendant had been isolated from the rest of the prison population for about 15 months, when international guidelines advocate applying such a measure for only 15 days.
"The harsh prison conditions she has already faced are important and weighty considerations that must be taken into account in her sentencing. In my opinion, the only way to take them into account is by imposing a non-parole period," he explained. "There is a high probability that, for her own protection, she will continue to be held in solitary confinement for the next few years ," he added, alluding to Erin Patterson's "notoriety."
Erin Patterson's defense now has 28 days to file an appeal against the sentence or even the verdict of the 12-person jury that determined in July, after about 10 weeks of trial, her conviction for the deaths of her ex-in-laws and her ex-husband's aunt, as well as the attempted murder of her ex-husband's uncle.
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