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Erin Patterson Convicted of Murdering Three Relatives with Death Cap Mushrooms

She faces mandatory life imprisonment under Victorian law when she is sentenced.

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50-year-old Erin Patterson was convicted of murdering her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, her father-in-law, Donald Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson.
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Overview

  • A Supreme Court jury delivered unanimous guilty verdicts on July 7 after a nine-week trial and six days of deliberation.
  • Patterson was convicted of three counts of murder for poisoning her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson and aunt Heather Wilkinson.
  • She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, who survived the poisoning after weeks in hospital and an organ transplant.
  • Prosecutors relied on phone-tower data, web search histories and mushroom residue from a discarded food dehydrator to show deliberate foraging and preparation of death cap mushrooms.
  • Sentencing is pending and a date will be scheduled for her to receive the mandatory life sentence under Victorian law.