An Australian woman murdered her husband's parents and aunt by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with toxic mushrooms, a jury found Monday, July 7 at the climax of a trial watched around the world. Keen home cook Erin Patterson hosted an intimate meal in July 2023 that started with good-natured banter and earnest prayer, but ended with three guests dead.
Throughout a trial lasting more than two months, Patterson maintained the beef-and-pastry dish was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms, the world's most lethal fungus. But a 12-person jury on Monday found the 50-year-old guilty of triple murder, a crime that carries a maximum of life imprisonment. She was also found guilty of attempting to murder a fourth guest who survived.
On July 29, 2023, Patterson set the table for an intimate family meal at her tree-shaded country property. Her lunch guests that afternoon were Don and Gail Patterson, the elderly parents of her long-estranged husband Simon. Places were also set for Simon's maternal aunt Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, a well-known pastor at the local Baptist church. Simon was urged to come but he declined because he felt "uncomfortable." In the background, Patterson's relationship with Simon was starting to turn sour. Still legally married, the pair had been fighting over Simon's child support contributions.
The guests' blood was swiftly coursing with deadly amatoxin, a poison produced by the death cap mushrooms known to sprout under the oak trees of Victoria. Don, Gail and Heather died of organ failure within a week. "It was very apparent that this was not survivable," intensive care specialist Stephen Warrillow told the trial. Baptist preacher Ian Wilkinson pulled through after weeks in the hospital. He told the court how guests' meals were served on four grey plates, while Patterson ate from a smaller orange dish. But he could not explain why Patterson wanted him dead.
Detectives soon found signs that Patterson, herself a true crime buff, had dished up the meal with murderous intent. Patterson told her guests she had received a cancer diagnosis and needed advice on breaking the news to her children, prosecutors alleged. Medical records showed Patterson received no such diagnosis, and the prosecution said this was a lie cooked up to lure the diners to her table.
She also lied about owning a food dehydrator which police later found dumped in a rubbish tip. Forensic tests found the appliance contained traces of the fatal fungi. "I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible," Patterson told the trial. A computer seized from her house had browsed a website pinpointing death cap mushrooms spotted a short drive from her house a year before the lunch, police said. Patterson said the meal was accidentally contaminated with death cap mushrooms, but maintained through her lawyers it was nothing more than a "terrible accident."