Melbourne, Sept 8, 2025 – An Australian mother-of-two has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering three family members and attempting to murder a fourth by serving them a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms.
Erin Patterson, 50, invited her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, to a lunch at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, on 29 July 2023. Heather’s husband, Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 70, also attended.
The meal – beef wellington with mashed potatoes and green beans – was secretly prepared with death cap mushrooms, one of the world’s deadliest fungi.
Within hours, all four guests became gravely ill. Don and Gail Patterson, along with Heather Wilkinson, died soon after. Reverend Wilkinson survived but only after a liver transplant and months in hospital.
The court heard that Erin Patterson went to great lengths to plan the meal. She even lied to her children, claiming she had cancer, as an excuse to keep them away from the lunch. Prosecutors revealed that she served her guests on different plates from her own.
Her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited but refused to attend. He later told the court he had long suspected Erin of trying to poison him, claiming he had fallen violently ill after meals she had cooked in the past.
During sentencing at the Supreme Court of Victoria, Justice Christopher Beale described the crime as “the worst category of murder and attempted murder.” He said Erin Patterson showed no remorse and noted the devastating impact on both the Patterson and Wilkinson families.
“You cut short three lives and caused lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health,” he said. “You also inflicted untold suffering on your own children, who have lost their grandparents and must now live with the knowledge of what their mother has done.”
Patterson was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 33 years before she can apply for parole. She is expected to spend much of her time in solitary confinement for her own safety.
The case has horrified Australians and captured worldwide media attention. Daily podcasts about the trial topped charts in Australia, and for the first time, cameras were allowed in the Supreme Court to broadcast sentencing live.
Leongatha, a quiet town known for farming and nature tourism, has been left shaken and forever linked to one of the nation’s most shocking murders.
Reverend Ian Wilkinson, the only survivor, said the poisoning left him “half alive” but thanked supporters across Australia and beyond.
“Our lives and our community depend on kindness,” he told reporters. “I encourage everyone to be kind to each other.”
Simon Patterson, Erin’s ex-husband, said their children are now living in “an irreparably broken home” and must grow up knowing their mother murdered their grandparents.
The death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides) is responsible for most fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide. Its toxins attack the liver and kidneys, leading to vomiting, seizures, coma, and death. Even small amounts can be fatal.
