An Australian court has sentenced a woman to life in prison over the infamous mushroom murders, where three people died after eating a meal containing deadly death cap mushrooms.
Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale ordered that she must serve at least 33 years before becoming eligible for parole, meaning she will be in her eighties when that time comes.
The victims were her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and family member Heather Wilkinson. Pastor Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, survived but endured months in hospital.
He told the court the poisoning left him feeling permanently changed, yet he urged the convicted killer to confess and offered her forgiveness.
Despite her conviction, the woman maintains she did not intend to cause harm. Prosecutors argued that the beef Wellington meal served in 2023 was deliberately laced with poison, and evidence suggested she may have previously tried to harm her husband with another dish.
The case, widely referred to as the “mushroom murders,” attracted global attention and packed courtrooms with media, filmmakers, and true crime followers.
While sentencing has been delivered, the motive remains unclear, leaving questions around one of Australia’s most notorious recent crimes.