'Guilty': mushroom cook convicted of triple murder

Triple murderer Erin Patterson blinked but appeared expressionless as she learned her fate after almost three months on trial.

Wearing a paisley blouse, the 50-year-old mother sat silently between two custody officers as a jury foreperson uttered the words “guilty” four times over the murders and attempted murder of her estranged husband Simon’s family.

His parents, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and aunty Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died in hospital days after eating poisoned beef Wellingtons cooked by Patterson in July 2023.

Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson was the only surviving lunch guest.

The families of the victims, and Mr Wilkinson, who attended every day of the trial in regional Victoria, were not in court for the verdicts on Monday afternoon.

Tonight at 8.40pm on Seven and 7plus, Michael Usher presents a 7NEWS mushroom trial special, featuring in-depth analysis, commentary and all the fallout from the case that has captured international attention.

Patterson’s friend, Ali Rose Prior, walked through dozens of national and international media waiting outside court after the verdicts.

She told awaiting media she was “saddened” by the verdicts, but “it is what it is”.

“I didn’t have any expectations, it’s the justice system and it has to be what it is,” she told reporters outside the Latrobe Valley courts, in Morwell.

Ms Prior, who attended the entire trial, confirmed Patterson had told her “see you soon” and that she would visit her friend in prison.

Patterson had pleaded not guilty and claimed she had not intentionally poisoned her lunch guests with individual beef Wellington parcels, at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.

The parcels were found to have had toxic death cap mushrooms inside them.

Patterson took to the witness box herself for eight days during the trial and claimed she had eaten the same meal but threw up the remnants soon after.

She said the deaths were a terrible accident, and admitted she may have accidentally included foraged mushrooms in the meal, despite lying about this to police when she was first interviewed.

“They tasted good and I didn’t get sick,” she told the jury, about preparing and eating wild fungi for the first time in 2020.

Meanwhile, prosecutors laid out an extensive circumstantial case to prove the poisoning event was deliberate.

This included evidence from sole lunch survivor Ian Wilkinson, who said Patterson had served individual beef Wellingtons to her guests on different plates to her own.

The prosecution accused Patterson of telling a series of lies to cover up the murders, including to doctors, nurses and toxicologists while they were trying to identify why her lunch guests were sick and save their lives at hospital.

She also lied about mushroom foraging police to public health investigators, who were searching to find the source of poisonous mushrooms after Patterson claimed they may have been from an Asian store.

Footage of Patterson dumping the dehydrator at a tip was shown to the jury, along with photos she took of mushrooms drying inside it.

After hearing nine weeks of evidence from more than 50 witnesses, a jury of 14 was whittled down to 12 who retired to deliberate on their verdicts one week ago, on June 30.

The had been sequestered in a hotel during their deliberations, and only permitted one day off on Sunday.

The courtroom fell silent as the foreperson read out four guilty verdicts and convicted Patterson of all offences.

Justice Christopher Beale thanked the jury for their service and gave them dispensation from serving on another jury for 15 years.

“You’ve been an exceptional jury, the way you’ve conducted yourself throughout this trial has caught my attention,” he said.

He said even though the trial had been a “major intrusion” on their lives, they had been in good spirits throughout the trial.

Patterson faces a sentence of up to life in prison, and will return to court for a pre-sentence hearing later this year.

Victoria Police said its thoughts are with the families of the victims and acknowledged “how difficult these past two years have been for them”.

“We will continue to support them in every way possible following this decision,” a spokeswoman said.