An Australian mother convicted of murdering the parents and aunt of her estranged husband by poisoning them with death cap mushrooms has been sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years.
Erin Patterson, 50, was found guilty in July of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, with a lunch of beef Wellington pastries laced with foraged death cap mushrooms.
She was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, who spent weeks in a hospital.
Justice Christopher Beale told the court the Victoria state Supreme Court Patterson’s crimes involved an enormous betrayal of trust.
“Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had all been good to you and your children over many years, as you acknowledged in your testimony,” Justice Beale said.
She will serve life sentence concurrently with a 25-year sentence for the attempted murder of the sole survivor, pastor Ian Wilkinson, whose wife, Heather, was among the guests who died in the hospital.
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