The Australian woman convicted of killing three lunch guests with the world’s most toxic mushrooms was sentenced to three life sentences with a non-parole period of 33 years, bookending a real-life crime drama that’s gripped Australia and spawned multiple podcasts and documentaries.
Erin Patterson, 50, was found guilty in July of murdering three people, including the parents, aunt and uncle of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, with a beef wellington meal she had deliberately laced with death cap mushrooms picked near her rural home in the state of Victoria in 2023.
The life sentences will be served concurrently with a 25-year sentence for the attempted murder of the sole survivor, pastor Ian Wilkinson, whose wife of 44 years, Heather, was among the guests who died in hospital in the days after the lunch.
Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, also died after suffering severe gastrointestinal illness that culminated in multiple organ failure.
Source: BBC
