Erin Patterson has been found guilty of murdering Gail Patterson, Don Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and guilty of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson.
The jurors came to their verdict after seven days of deliberation.
Patterson was accused of murdering her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and her estranged husband’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson in July, 2023. She also faced an attempted murder charged in relation to Ian Wilkinson.
The jurors in Patterson’s triple murder trial heard from more than 50 witnesses over the course of 10 weeks at Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, Victoria, including Patterson herself and lunch survivor Ian Wilkinson. Other witnesses included medical experts and a fungi scientist.
The jury was comprised of seven men and five women.
The prosecution had argued Patterson had intentionally added death cap mushrooms to the beef Wellington lunch she served to her in-laws in the aftermath of her separation from her now-estranged husband, Simon.
Prosecutors also alleged she used a fake cancer diagnosis to compel the guests to the lunch.
Simon Patterson’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and aunt, Heather Wilkinson, died of multiple organ failure linked to death cap mushroom poisoning a week after having lunch at the home of Erin Patterson in Leongatha in Victoria’s southeast. Ian Wilkinson was in critical condition but recovered following six weeks in hospital.
After the verdicts were delivered on Monday, Supreme Court judge Christopher Beale expressed thanks to the jurors and said they had been excellent.