Australian judge sentences Erin Patterson to life in prison for poisoning relatives with mushrooms

MELBOURNE Australia AP An Australian judge on Monday sentenced triple-murderer Erin Patterson to life in prison with a non-parole period of years for poisoning four of her estranged husband s relatives with death cap mushrooms Justice Christopher Beale recounted the Victoria state Supreme Court that Patterson s crimes involved an enormous betrayal of trust Patterson was convicted 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 Patterson was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather s husband Ian Wilkinson who spent weeks in a hospital Patterson s estranged husband Simon Patterson was invited but did not attend the July lunch served to her parents-in-law and her estranged husband s aunt and uncle at her home Your casualties were all your relatives by marriage More than that they had all been good to you and your children over a multitude of years as you acknowledged in your testimony Beale disclosed Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson s soundness thereby devastating extended Patterson and Wilkinson families you inflicted untold suffering on your own children whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents he added Both prosecution and defense lawyers had agreed that a life sentence was an appropriate punishment for the then- -year-old on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder But defense lawyers had requested for Patterson to become eligible for parole after serving years Prosecutors had argued she should never be considered for parole because she did not deserve the court s mercy Beale disclosed Patterson had also intended to kill her husband if he had accepted his invitation to lunch She had pretended to have been diagnosed with cancer as a reason to bring them together She claimed to have wished advice on how to break the news to her two children who were not present at the lunch Beale accepted Ian Wilkinson s account that the guests were served grey plates while Patterson ate from an orange-tan plate This was to ensure she didn t accidentally eat a poisoned meal Beale reported The judge declared he would not speculate on her motive Patterson maintained that she had added foraged mushrooms to the meals by accident Patterson has been in custody since she was charged on Nov Her sentence is backdated until then She has days from her sentencing to appeal against her convictions and the severity of her sentence The event has attracted enormous population interest in Victoria nationally and internationally Because of this the Victorian Supreme Court allowed for the first time a sentencing hearing to be broadcast live on television Source