A woman who poisoned four family members, killing three of them, is facing life in prison after a jury found her guilty of murder-by-mushrooms.
Erin Patterson invited her estranged husband’s mother, father, aunt and uncle to lunch at her home in the southern state of Victoria in Australia in July 2023 and served them beef Wellington made with death cap mushrooms.
Patterson, aged 50, told police she must have included the deadly fungi in her recipe by accident. But the trial proved she had lied and tried to hide evidence of her culinary crime by disposing of incriminating evidence.
During the 10-week trial, which dominated headlines Down Under, the jury heard how Patterson had invited the family for lunch under the pretext of revealing a cancer diagnosis.
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Estranged husband Simon decided at the last minute not to attend, and Patterson was originally also accused of his attempted murder, although she never faced those charges in court.
Google searches for beef Wellington recipes have soared in Australia over the last few months, as the trial captivated the country.
During Patterson’s trial, the jury saw pictures of the leftover beef Wellington and heard how family members had gotten sick and gone to the local hospital, where mushroom poisoning was quickly diagnosed.
They also heard from the sole survivor, her estranged husband's uncle Ian Wilkinson, who testified that Erin had served them beef Wellington with green beans and mashed potatoes in individual portions, but served herself on a different plate.
No traces of the deadly mushrooms were found in her system, and she told police that she was bulimic and had vomited after eating the food.
A doctor who treated the poisoning victims says he had taken one look at her and known something was wrong.
In an interview with Australia’s ABC News, Doctor Chris Webster said he had asked Erin Patterson where she had gotten the mushrooms.
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"When she didn't respond in a way that instantly would have explained it as a tragic accident, that's it, from that moment in my mind, she was guilty," he said.
"She was evil and very smart to have planned it all and carried it out, but didn't quite dot every 'i' and cross every 't.'"
Although prosecutors couldn’t find a specific motive for the murders, Australian media outlets have reported that Erin, who had worked as an accountant and also an air traffic controller, had resented her ex-husband, Simon, for not doing his share of household chores. In messages to online friends, the triple-murderer said she had had to hire a cleaner because of Simon’s refusal to help out around the house. The couple have two children together.
Prosecutors untangled her web of lies about the poisonings, including her claims that she had never been foraging for mushrooms, and that she didn’t own a food dehydrator. The kitchen appliance was later found at a nearby landfill site, where Erin had taken it to try and dispose of evidence. Police found death cap mushroom residue inside.
Patterson’s legal team has 28 days to appeal the conviction. If there is no appeal, she will likely be sentenced in August and faces life behind bars.
