Five key moments from Erin Patterson’s mushroom murders sentence

Three murders, one attempted murder, an 11-week trial and a 33-year sentence were summed up in 45 minutes.

Justice Christopher Beale was direct in his assessment of Erin Patterson’s lack of remorse or pity for her victims, saying she formed an intention to murder them 13 days before she served a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms for lunch in July 2023.

Patterson, 50, was sentenced to the maximum penalty of life in prison for each of the murders of her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson. She also received the maximum, 25 years in jail, for the attempted murder of Korumburra pastor Ian Wilkinson.

Here are the five key moments from Beale’s sentencing remarks in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday.

1. Patterson’s intention to kill

On July 16, 2023, Patterson attended the Sunday service at Korumburra Baptist Church, at which Ian Wilkinson was pastor.

Beale said Patterson had invited the Pattersons and Wilkinsons to lunch at her home on July 29, 2023.

“Both the Pattersons and the Wilkinsons were surprised by the invitation, as the Wilkinsons had never previously been invited to a meal at your home.”

Beale noted Patterson also invited her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, saying she had some “important medical news” to tell at the lunch. He later declined, saying he felt uncomfortable attending.

“I am satisfied that by the 16th of July, 2023 when you unusually invited Simon, his parents and his aunt and uncle to a lunch without the children to discuss your non-existent medical issues, you did so with the intention of killing them,” Beale said.

2. Killer had no pity for her victims

Beale said when Patterson learned from her former partner that some or all of her lunch guests had fallen seriously ill, she “showed no pity” for her victims.

“Instead of informing those treating the Pattersons and Wilkinsons that you had used foraged mushrooms, which you could have done without having to admit that you had deliberately poisoned their meals, you repeatedly denied foraging, insisting that the mushrooms in the beef Wellingtons were sourced solely from Woolworths and an Asian grocery,” Beale said. “I should infer from your pitiless behaviour that your intention to kill was ongoing and that this constitutes an additional aggravating circumstance.”

Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died on August 4, six days after eating the beef Wellingtons. Don Patterson died the following day, August 5.

3. The victims’ suffering was protracted

Beale said the tragedy had impacted four generations of the Patterson and Wilkinson families, who were “traumatised” by Patterson’s crimes.

“Don’s mother, Martha Patterson, who is aged 100, made a victim impact statement. In it, she prays for God’s healing for her family. Gail and Heather’s father, now deceased, also reached his 100th birthday in 2024 but tragically, only one of his three daughters ... was alive to mark that milestone with him.”

Beale said the victim impact statements from both families made many references to the trauma they had experienced, while the Patterson family spoke of the stress of watching their parents suffer in hospital.

“There is, of course, great anger at the callousness of your actions,” he told Patterson. “To take just one example, Ian Wilkinson’s sister, Dorothy Dicker, questions ‘how anyone could sit there and watch those four kind and caring people eat that meal’.”

“Your failure to exhibit any remorse pours salt into all the victims’ wounds.”

Beale said it was “implausible” that Patterson had selected death cap mushrooms without realising the long, painful death her lunch guests would endure.

He also noted that while Ian Wilkinson had survived, he continued to suffer ongoing medical issues as a result of his brush with death.

4. A ‘devastating betrayal of trust’

Beale concluded his analysis of the victim impact statements with words from the Pattersons’ son, Matthew.

“Erin was embraced as part of the Patterson family. She was welcome and treated with genuine love and respect in a way she did not appear to experience from her own family,” Beale read.

“Her actions represent a profound and devastating betrayal of the trust and love extended to her.”

Beale then said: “Having regard to the abating circumstances of your offending and the victim impact statements, I have no hesitation in finding that your offending falls into the worst category for the offences of murder and attempted murder.”

5. Patterson’s custody in conditions

Beale said the main mitigating factor for Patterson was the conditions she is enduring during her incarceration at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre – a maximum security women’s prison in Melbourne’s west.

He said Patterson was not permitted to mix with other women in the unit where she is housed and spends at least 22 hours a day in her cell.

“You have effectively been held in continuous solitary confinement for the last 15 months,” Beale said.

“And at the very least, there is a substantial chance that, for your protection, you will continue to be held in solitary confinement for years to come.”

Beale said the unprecedented interest in the case meant Patterson was “likely to remain a notorious prisoner for many years to come, and as such, remain at significant risk from other prisoners”.

“The harsh prison conditions that you have experienced already, the likely prospect of solitary confinement for the foreseeable future, are important and weighty considerations which would count for something in a sentencing exercise.”

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