Erin Patterson, 50, of Leongatha is facing three life sentences. She intentionally killed three of her family members by feeding them a toxic meal prepared with poison-filled death cap mushrooms. On July 31, 2023, this kind of horrific incident occurred. Patterson had invited five in-laws to her home for lunch, including her husband’s parents, uncle and aunt. The lunch quickly became a nightmare after her guests ate the beef wellington starter, which she had secretly poisoned.
The jury found Patterson guilty after six days of deliberation in July, despite her claims of innocence during a grueling cross-examination. In 2014, she left her husband, the filmmaker Simon Patterson. He had cancelled the lunch invite the day before, as he was just feeling weird about the meeting. This decision would later turn out to be very fortunate as members of his family became seriously ill after the meal.
The Lunch Invitation and Subsequent Illness
On that fateful day, Erin Patterson served a beef wellington lunch to five of her close family members. Among the guests were her in-laws—Don and Gail Patterson, the estranged husband’s family. His aunt and uncle Ian and Heather Wilkinson joined him at the roundtable. Although the event was planned as a relaxing homecoming, it turned into a disastrous shakedown almost immediately.
Simon Patterson had opted out of the lunch, citing discomfort, which ultimately saved him from being part of the tragedy. Only after the guests ate the food did they develop serious symptoms and have to be hospitalized. Unfortunately we lost Don and Gail Patterson, and Ian Wilkinson.
So after the crime, Erin Patterson tried to act as though she had nothing to do with it. First, she claimed from the beginning that she purchased the mushrooms from area grocery stores. This claim launched health officials on a baffling wild goose chase to track down their source. Responding investigators later discovered her earlier work placing death cap mushrooms on maps of Europe. She had requested information on this subject via a citizen science portal.
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
The prosecution did a great job with Patterson’s motives, anger, and resentment towards in-laws. In December of 2022, she became enraged over their role in her marriage ending — documented in Facebook messages.
At trial, Patterson’s defense team contended that she had mistakenly included the mushrooms while preparing the meal. They insisted all along that she had no clue how bad she had messed up until her visitors became gravely ill. The jury was not persuaded by this so-called necessity defense.
Justice Christopher Beale described what Patterson did as “an unfathomable breach of trust.” He noted that her crimes inflicted “untold suffering” on her victims. They fundamentally impacted her own children, who lost their maternal grandparents due to her actions.
“The devastating impact of your crimes is not limited to your direct victims; your crimes have harmed a great many people.” – Justice Christopher Beale
On the morning of September 8, 2025, Erin Patterson stood before the court. She was sentenced to three concurrent life terms, with a non-parole period of 33 years. The court was told that she sought to conceal her actions by falsely informing about her sickness in the days immediately following the lunch. She further alleged that she had served her children the remainder of that contaminated meal.
Reactions from Family Members
Family members released statements mourning their collective shock and grief at what transpired. Ian Wilkinson became a different person after losing his family members. To this day, he refuses to cast himself as a victim of Patterson’s abuses.
“I am no longer Erin Patterson’s victim, and she has become the victim of my kindness.” – Ian Wilkinson
Wilkinson equally called attention to the value of being kind to one another, as families go through difficult moments. In addition, he reflected on how their family life has completely changed since the incident.
“Everybody to be kind to each other.” – Ian Wilkinson
It seems to me that Erin Patterson’s actions have raised serious questions about trust and the integrity of familial relationships. She has inflicted a violent betrayal that will wound them, and their children, for generations.
