Australia mushroom murderer Erin Patterson jailed for minimum of 33 years

By Alasdair Pal

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian woman convicted of murdering three elderly relatives of her estranged husband with a meal containing poisonous mushrooms was sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison on Monday.

The presiding judge said Erin Patterson's use of individual portions of Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms to poison her in-laws over lunch had a "devastating" impact on the relatives of the deceased.

Patterson was found guilty in July of killing her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, father-in-law, Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson in a case that has been globally followed and dubbed the Leongatha mushroom murders.

A jury also found the 50-year-old guilty of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, who survived the 2023 meal at Patterson's home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 people, some 135 km (84 miles) southeast of Melbourne.

On Monday, Justice Christopher Beale said the substantial planning of the murders and Patterson's lack of remorse meant her sentence should be lengthy, at the sentencing hearing at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne.

"The devastating impact of your crimes is not limited to your direct victims. Your crimes have harmed a great many people," he said.

"Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson's health, thereby devastating the extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents."

At a pre-sentencing hearing last month, Patterson's barrister Colin Mandy urged Beale to impose a non-parole period on the sentence, meaning she would have the possibility of eventual release, as her "notorious" reputation would make prison more onerous for her than the average offender.

The prosecution had argued that Patterson should never be released.

Patterson, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial and said the poisonings were accidental, has 28 days to appeal her sentence. She has not yet indicated whether she will do so. 

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The deaths devastated the close-knit rural community of Korumburra, where all the victims lived.

The court received a total of 28 victim impact statements, of which seven were read publicly at last month's hearings.

Ian Wilkinson, a pastor at a local church and the sole surviving guest of the lunch, told last month's hearing that the death of his wife had left him bereft.

"It's a truly horrible thought to live with that somebody could decide to take her life. I only feel half alive without her," he said, breaking down in tears as he delivered his victim impact statement.

The extraordinary media interest in the case, which gripped Australia for much of the 10-week trial, had been traumatic for the family, Erin Patterson's estranged husband Simon Patterson - who was invited to the lunch but declined - said at the same hearing. 

Journalists and television crews from around the world descended on the town of Morwell when the trial began in April, with millions of Australians following proceedings live through one of several popular daily podcasts. 

For the first time in its history, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed a television camera into the court to broadcast Beale's sentencing remarks live due to overwhelming public interest. 

The trial has already inspired several books, documentaries, and a drama series, "Toxic", set to air on state broadcaster ABC.

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Saad Sayeed)