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Australia, poisonous mushrooms at dinner: convicted of triple murder

Erin Patterson convicted for serving beef with poisonous mushrooms during a dinner at her home in Leongatha: her in-laws and her husband’s aunt died. Only her ex-husband survived, hospitalised for weeks.

Australian woman Erin Patterson has been found guilty of triple murder, accused of cooking and serving a dish of beef and poisonous mushrooms that killed her in-laws and her husband’s aunt. The verdict was handed down by the Supreme Court of the State of Victoria at the end of an eleven-week trial.

The events date back to 29 July 2023, when Patterson organised a dinner at her home in Leongatha, in the Gippsland region of south-eastern Australia. Among the guests was her estranged husband, Ian Wilkinson, the sole survivor, who remained in hospital in serious condition for a long time. The woman was also found guilty of the attempted murder of her ex-husband.

According to the trial, all four guests were diagnosed with poisoning from amanita mushrooms, one of the most lethal in the world. The police investigation led to Patterson’s formal indictment in November 2023, more than three months after the incident.

Investigators reconstructed that the defendant had knowingly cooked the toxic mushrooms, but it was not clear where she had obtained them. The defence argued that it was a tragic mistake, but the jury did not find this version credible.
The sentence will be decided in the coming days.

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