Meal of Death: Australian Woman Found Guilty Of Murdering Guests On Lunch With Killer Mushrooms

Australia: An Australian woman, Erin Patterson, was found guilty of murdering three of her husband's relatives on Monday. The woman deliberately served poisonous mushrooms for lunch, resulting in the deaths of the three relatives.

The jury in the Supreme Court trial in Victoria state gave its verdict after careful consideration following a nine-week trial. Though the date of the hearing has not been scheduled yet, Patterson will face life in prison.

Meal At Home Turned Deadly 

Three of the four lunchtime guests who lost their lives in 2023, due to Patterson's deadly dish, were her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson. They died in the hospital after having beef Wellington pastries containing death cap mushrooms at Patterson's house in Leongatha.

Further, the convicted has also been found guilty of attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Heather's Husband, who survived the meal.

Strained Relationships Led to the Murder? 

The point of contention during the trial was whether Patterson was aware of the poisonous fungi in the meal or it was an unthinkable accident.

No clearly defined motive was highlighted during the trial; however, strained relations between Patterson and her Husband's relatives were underscored.

The defense argued that she had no reason to take such a drastic step and go to the extent of killing her children's only surviving grandparents, as she had moved to a new home at the time, had sole custody of her children, and was about to begin studying for a nursing degree.

Prosecutors opposed this claim and said that the accused at the time had two faces. She faked having a healthy relationship with her in-laws while having utter hatred hidden away in her heart for them.

They argued that she had meticulously planned the triple murder and had also invited her husband, who did not attend, to the fatal lunch. Additionally, the argument also highlighted that her relationship had deteriorated in the year before the deaths.

The Case Was Examined in Detail

From what happened at the house that day to how the murder was planned, every detail related to the matter was carefully examined. More than 50 witnesses were called to understand the motive behind the murder.

The one point that raised several speculations was the recipe of her fatal meal. The recipe she used had directions for a single, family-sized portion, but Patterson had served individual beef Wellington pastries, which was interpreted as her pursuit to keep her meal free of the poisonous fungi. Nonetheless, Patterson argued that she was unable to find the correct ingredients to make the recipe as directed.

Every detail that could uncover the truth was scrutinized at length, including why Patterson sent her children to watch a movie, why she added extra dried mushrooms to the recipe from her pantry, why she didn’t fall ill when the other diners did, and why she disposed of a food dehydrator after the deaths and lied to the investigators that she didn’t own one.

The investigation and questioning were so intense that she had to acknowledge some of the lies, including that she’d never foraged mushrooms or owned a dehydrator.  She later said that her earlier claims were made in panic.

Further, Patterson said she had an eating disorder, due to which she vomited right after the meal and did not fall ill.  She also denied that she had invited the guests over on the pretext that she had cancer. 

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