An Australian woman has been found guilty of murdering her husband’s parents and aunt by poisoning their beef Wellington lunch with toxic mushrooms, a jury announced Monday, concluding a high-profile trial that captured global attention.
Erin Patterson, a keen home cook, hosted an intimate family meal in July 2023, which began with friendly banter and prayer but ended in tragedy with three guests dead.
Throughout the more than two-month trial, Patterson insisted the death cap mushrooms — the world’s deadliest fungus — had contaminated the dish accidentally.
However, the 12-member jury found the 50-year-old guilty of triple murder, a crime punishable by life imprisonment. She was also convicted of attempting to murder a fourth guest who survived the poisoning.
Detective Inspector Dean Thomas urged the public to remember the victims. “I think it’s very important that we remember that we’ve had three people that have died,” he said. “I ask that we acknowledge those people and not forget them.”
The trial drew widespread media, podcasters, and true crime enthusiasts to the quiet town of Morwell, Victoria — better known for its prize-winning roses than such grim events. International press from New York to New Delhi closely followed every development in what has come to be known as the “mushroom murders.”
On July 29, 2023, Patterson prepared the meal at her tree-shaded rural home, inviting her husband Simon’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his maternal aunt Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, a local Baptist pastor. Simon himself declined to attend, citing discomfort amid growing marital tensions.
Patterson, still legally married to Simon, was reportedly engaged in disputes over child support at the time.
She spent generously on quality beef cuts, preparing individual parcels of beef Wellington coated with a duxelles of minced mushrooms and pastry. Guests praised the meal as “delicious and beautiful,” pausing to pray before and after eating.
Unknown to the guests, the death cap mushrooms—known for their deadly amatoxin—had been stealthily incorporated. The toxin rapidly caused fatal organ failure in Don, Gail, and Heather within a week.
Police investigations revealed evidence suggesting the poisoning was intentional. Prosecutors alleged Patterson fabricated a cancer diagnosis to coax the family to the meal, a claim disproven by medical records. She also lied about owning a food dehydrator, later found discarded in a rubbish tip containing traces of the fatal mushrooms.
“I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible,” Patterson admitted during the trial.
Further incriminating evidence included internet searches on her computer for death cap mushrooms found near her home a year before the deadly lunch.
Ian Wilkinson, the sole survivor, described how Patterson served guests from grey plates while she ate from a smaller orange one, but he could not explain her motive.
Despite being a mother of two and active in her close-knit community, Patterson was also known as a true crime enthusiast and described by friends as “a bit of a super sleuth.”
Her defense argued the poisoning was a tragic accident. “She didn’t do it deliberately. She didn’t do it intentionally,” lawyer Colin Mandy told the court, denying any deliberate involvement with death cap mushrooms.
After a week of deliberations amidst complex expert testimony, the jury delivered a guilty verdict. A sentencing date will soon be scheduled, determining Patterson’s prison term. Her legal team has 28 days post-sentencing to file an appeal, though no decision on this has yet been announced.
