The trial of Australian woman Erin Patterson has delivered a guilty verdict on the charge of murdering her estranged husband's family by deliberately serving them poisonous mushrooms.
On 29 July, 2023, Patterson sat down for a meal with her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68.
The meal in question was beef wellington, mashed potato and green beans with pre-sliced mushrooms and dried mushrooms, but these dried ones were death cap mushrooms which can kill a person who eats even a small amount.
All four guests became unwell, with Gail and Don Patterson as well as Heather Wilkinson later dying in hospital while Ian Wilkinson only survived after a liver transplant.
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Erin Patterson always claimed that the deaths had been a 'terrible accident', but after six days of deliberations the jury of a Victoria court delivered the verdict that she was guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
The guilty verdicts required a unanimous decision from the jury, with members asked to decide whether or not Erin Patterson knew the mushrooms she put in the meal were death caps and her invitation to a meal was a plan to kill her guests.
That she served the deadly meal was not in doubt, only whether or not it was an accident or intentional.
Now she has been found guilty, Patterson faces the possibility of life imprisonment and will be sentenced at a later date.
Patterson's trial heard that she ate from a different coloured plate to everyone else, and an investigation into her internet search history found that she had looked up the poisonous mushrooms online prior to the deadly meal she served up.
Also invited to the meal was Patterson's estranged husband Simon, who had not accepted the invitation as he felt 'too uncomfortable'.
"Our thoughts are with the respective families at this time and we acknowledge how difficult these past two years have been for them," a spokesperson from Victoria Police said.
"We will continue to support them in every way possible following this decision."
During her trial Patterson admitted to lying about certain events, including her saying she had never foraged for mushrooms or owned a dehydrator to prepare them, with her claiming that she did so in a panic after people started dying.
Patterson also tried to claim that she did not become ill after the meal because she had bulimia and vomited after eating the food.
In the end the prosecution's argument that she intentionally poisoned her husband's family with deadly mushrooms was the one that convinced the jury over Patterson's claims that the whole thing had been an accident.
Topics: Australia, Crime, Erin Patterson
Joe Harker