Australian woman found guilty of triple murder with toxic mushrooms

An Australian woman murdered her husband's parents and aunt by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with toxic mushrooms, a jury found Monday at the climax of a trial watched around the world.

Keen home cook Erin Patterson hosted an intimate meal in July 2023 that started with good-natured banter and earnest prayer -- but ended with three guests dead.

Throughout a trial lasting more than two months, Patterson maintained the beef-and-pastry dish was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms, the world's most-lethal fungus.

But a 12-person jury on Monday found the 50-year-old guilty of triple murder, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. She was also found guilty of attempting to murder a fourth guest who survived.

Newspapers from New York to New Delhi have followed every twist of what many now simply call the "mushroom murders."

Family members of the victims declined to speak after the verdict, asking for privacy in a statement issued through police.

On July 29, 2023, Patterson set the table for an intimate family meal at her tree-shaded country property. Her lunch guests that afternoon were Don and Gail Patterson, the parents of her long-estranged husband Simon.

Places were also set for Simon's maternal aunt Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, a well-known pastor at the local Baptist church. Husband Simon was urged to come but he declined because he felt "uncomfortable."

In the background, Patterson's relationship with Simon was starting to turn sour. The pair, still legally married, had been fighting over Simon's child support contributions.

Guests said grace before tucking in and prayed once more after eating,  with Heather later gushing about the "delicious and beautiful" meal.

Death cap mushrooms are easily mistaken for other edible varieties and reportedly possess a sweet taste that belies their potent toxicity.

The guests' blood was swiftly coursing with deadly amatoxin, a poison produced by the death cap mushrooms known to sprout under the oak trees of Victoria. Don, Gail and Heather died of organ failure within a week.

Detectives soon found signs that Patterson had dished up the meal with murderous intent.

Patterson told her guests she had received a cancer diagnosis and needed advice on breaking the news to her children, prosecutors alleged. But medical records showed Patterson received no such diagnosis.The prosecution said this was a lie cooked up to lure the diners to her table.

She also lied about owning a food dehydrator which police later found dumped in a rubbish tip. Forensic tests found the appliance contained traces of the fatal fungi.

A computer seized from her house had browsed a website pinpointing death cap mushrooms spotted a short drive from her house a year before the lunch, police said.

Baptist preacher Ian Wilkinson was the only guest to survive, pulling through after weeks in hospital. He told the court how guests' meals were served on four grey plates, while Patterson ate from a smaller orange dish.

But he could not explain why Patterson wanted him dead.

Patterson was a devoted mother-of-two with an active interest in her tight-knit community. She maintained through her lawyers it was nothing more than a "terrible accident."

Confronted with countless hours of intricate expert testimony, it took the jury a week to find Patterson guilty. The court will soon set a date for a sentencing hearing that will determine how long Patterson spends in jail.

Her legal team has 28 days after sentencing to appeal both her criminal convictions and her sentence.

AFP