Featured Image Credit: Victoria Supreme Court/9News
Topics: Erin Patterson, Crime, Australia, Food and Drink
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Erin Patterson, Crime, Australia, Food and Drink
Video evidence from the notorious 'mushroom murders' trial has been released to the public, showing one item that a jury were unable to use whilst convicting cold-blooded killer Erin Patterson earlier this week.
For those unfamiliar with the case, the 50-year-old Victoria, Australia local was arrested in 2023 for fatally poisoning three of her relatives during a family meal back in July.
Patterson served her ex in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, beef wellington parcels that had been laced with death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha. She also served the same meal to Gail's 66-year-old sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband, Ian, 68.
The mother-of-two had invited her ex partner Simon Wilkinson to the family get-together, with plans to murder him, too - though, he chose not to attend, feeling 'too uncomfortable' given recent tensions between the former couple.
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Don, Gail and Heather all died from mushroom poisoning during the first week of August, days after being placed onto life support with advanced multiple organ failure. Ian, meanwhile, was left in a coma until September, but survived the ordeal.
Though Patterson initially denied any involvement, police later discovered a food hydrator in a local tip, which they ruled she'd used to prepare the poisonous mushrooms before dumping it.
Her marathon trial kicked off nine weeks and six days ago, during which photographic evidence has been shown to the jury, including that of a receipt for the hydrator, the toxic vegetables themselves, the recovered half-eaten parcels and a diary entry written by Heather which read, 'Erin’s for Lunch', on 29 July 2024.
CCTV evidence was also shown in court, showing the killer checking herself into hospital, after claiming she herself had become ill as a result of eating the meal.
Patterson panicked, however, and quickly discharged herself just minutes after her arrival, against the advice of doctors.
During her quick visit, though, she was recorded via CCTV sitting in an appointment room, carrying with her a mysterious phone in a pink case.
Whilst garnering evidence against her, police were later unable to retrieve the device, believing she'd used it to purchase death cap mushrooms over the internet.
The entire way through the trial, Patterson claimed she never intended to murder her family, insisting she had no idea of the poisonous potential of the mushrooms.
Yesterday (8 July), almost two years on from her crime, and Patterson was found guilty of all three murders by a 12-person jury, as well as the attempted murder of her ex husband.
She now faces life in prison, with her sentencing set to take place at a later date.