- Erin Patterson, 50, has been convicted of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill a fourth after serving a beef Wellington lunch laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023.
- Her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson died days after the meal. Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, survived after weeks in a coma.
- Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, was invited but didn’t attend. Charges of attempted murder against him were dropped just before trial.
A Victorian jury has found Erin Patterson guilty of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder after a lunch she hosted in July 2023 turned deadly. The meal — beef Wellington laced with poisonous death cap mushrooms — claimed the lives of her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66.
Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, a local pastor, was the lone survivor. He spent weeks in an induced coma and underwent a liver transplant before recovering. In a recent court appearance, he described feeling “half alive” without his wife and closest friends, calling the crime a “callous and calculated” act.
Erin’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, had been invited to the lunch but pulled out the day before. Prosecutors had previously charged her with attempting to kill him on three separate occasions, but those charges were quietly dropped just before trial, with details only emerging weeks later.
The case has captivated global audiences, not only for its bizarre culinary twist but for the emotional fallout and unanswered questions surrounding Patterson’s motives. Prosecutors are pushing for a life sentence without parole, while her defense team argues for eligibility after 30 years.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 8, and the hearing will be broadcast live — a rare move by the Victorian Supreme Court.
