Erin Patterson, 50, has been found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after a closely watched trial that revolved around a fatal family lunch involving poisonous mushrooms. 

The verdict, delivered in Morwell on Monday after a 10-week trial, closed a chilling chapter that shocked Australia and attracted international attention.

The case centered around a July 2023 meal in which Patterson served beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms to her estranged husband's family. 

Her former parents-in-law, Donald and Gail Patterson, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, died after eating the meal. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, survived but required seven weeks of intensive hospital treatment.

Patterson maintained her innocence throughout, claiming it was a tragic accident. She was the sole witness called for the defense and reportedly showed no reaction as the verdicts were read. 

Prosecutors offered no definitive motive but pointed to strained relations with her estranged husband and alleged fabrications, including falsely claiming a cancer diagnosis to lure the victims to the lunch.

One piece of key evidence was a food dehydrator Patterson initially denied owning, which investigators later recovered from a local dump. Prosecutors argued this pointed to a premeditated attempt to cover her tracks.

The high-profile trial, which began on April 29, captivated the nation’s media and public imagination. It even spawned several true-crime podcasts, adding to the growing global fascination.

Now facing a life sentence, Patterson’s conviction ends one of Australia’s most unsettling modern murder cases—one that raised haunting questions about trust, family, and motive hidden beneath the surface of a seemingly ordinary meal.

Source: Al Jazeera 

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