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An Australian woman accused of serving her estranged husband’s relatives toxic death cap mushrooms has been found guilty of murder.
A jury in Morwell, Victoria, on Monday, July 7, 2025, decided mother-of-two Erin Patterson, 50, deliberately poisoned to death Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail Patterson’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, according to the BBC. The former were the parents of the defendant’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, and the latter was the man’s aunt.
Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, was also poisoned during the deadly July 29, 2023 lunch in which Erin Patterson laced beef Wellington before serving it to her guests, though he survived the ordeal.
Jury finds Erin Patterson guilty
After six days of deliberations, a jury unanimously found Erin Patterson guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, according to CNN.
Prosecutors alleged Patterson — then separated from her husband — falsified claims of a cancer diagnosis as means to invite her in-laws for lunch at her Leongatha home in rural Australia, about 85 miles southeast of Melbourne. She admitted on the stand that she made up the cancer diagnosis because she felt embarrassed about her desire to undergo weight-loss surgery, according to the British outlet.
Patterson was accused of inviting her ex for the meeting, though Simon Patterson declined the invite because he felt “too uncomfortable.”
Erin Patterson has long maintained her innocence, and although she admitted she cooked and served the meal to her guests, she cited it all as one “terrible accident,” as previously reported by Oxygen. The defense spent significant time pointing to Patterson’s hobby as a wild mushroom forager and claimed she accidentally mixed mushrooms she’d picked with others she’d purchased from an Asian market.
The exact origin of the deadly mushroom wasn’t precisely identified.
Patterson’s guests fell violently ill after unknowingly ingesting amanita phalloides — the world’s deadliest fungi known as the death cap mushroom — and had to be hospitalized. Don Patterson, Gail Patterson, and Heather Wilkinson died six to seven days after the fateful sit-down, while Ian Wilkinson spent five weeks in intensive care and recalled little of the events.
The Baptist pastor later testified that their host used a differently colored plate than the rest during the meeting.
The case became front-page news, particularly overseas, and the trial lasted 10 weeks.
Why did Erin Patterson kill her in-laws?
A motive behind the killings was never disclosed. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers, herself, said early in the trial they would “not be suggesting that there was a particular motive to do what she did,” Oxygen previously reported.
Still, texts back and forth between Erin and Simon Patterson were shown in court, proving existing contention between them as they squabbled over child support and schooling.
In December 2022 — about six months before the murders — Patterson aired her grievances to someone on Facebook Messenger about her in-laws’ perceived unwillingness to get involved and help resolve the deteriorating marriage, according to CNN.
“I’m sick of this s–t I want nothing to do with them,” she wrote. “I thought his parents would want him to do the right thing, but it seems their concern about not wanting to feel uncomfortable and not wanting to get involved in their son’s personal matters are overriding that, so f–k em.”
During the trial, Rogers pointed to “four calculated deceptions” they said proved Patterson killed her guests with intent, the first being that she fabricated the cancer diagnosis. Rogers said the other three “deceptions” consisted of the amount of poisonous mushrooms found in the dish, the defendant’s attempts to make herself appear sick, and a “cover-up” to conceal the truth by tossing the food dehydrator used to make the meal just days after it was served, according to CNN.
The prosecution accused Patterson of lying to police about getting rid of the dehydrator and resetting her phone to factory default settings multiple times, according to The New York Times.
Contrarily, the defense called the prosecution’s charges “four ridiculous, convoluted propositions,” the American outlet reported.
What’s next for Erin Patterson?
A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled, though Erin Patterson now faces a maximum life sentence behind bars, according to The New York Times.
The victims’ loved ones refused to comment on the case following the verdict, as did a representative for Simon Patterson and his siblings, according to Reuters.
However, Victoria Police Detective Dean Thomas said in a statement, “I think it’s very important that we remember that three people have died, and we’ve had a person that nearly died and was seriously injured.”
Erin Patterson will have the option to appeal the conviction at a later time.
