An Australian mother has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 33 years after serving a beef wellington laced with deadly death cap mushrooms that killed three family members and left another fighting for his life.
The woman, 50, invited her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, to lunch at her home in Victoria on 29 July 2023. Also present was Heather’s husband, Reverend Ian Wilkinson, who survived after months in hospital and a liver transplant.
The dish was served with mashed potatoes and green beans, but it was the mushrooms hidden inside the pastry that caused devastation. Within days, three of the guests had died from acute liver failure. Reverend Wilkinson was the sole survivor, though left with permanent health damage.
Court proceedings revealed that the mother had gone to great lengths to plan the meal, even fabricating a cancer diagnosis to explain why her children would not be present. She maintained the poisonings were accidental, but the jury found her guilty of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.
The judge described the crime as falling into the “worst category of murder,” citing her lack of remorse, deliberate deception, and the long-lasting trauma inflicted on multiple families. He noted that her actions devastated her children, who lost their grandparents and now face life with only one parent.
The case gripped Australia and beyond, with daily trial coverage and podcasts documenting every twist. For the first time, cameras were allowed inside the Supreme Court of Victoria to broadcast the sentencing live, underscoring the public fascination with the story.
Evidence presented in court showed that the surviving victim and the deceased were served food on large grey plates, while the perpetrator ate from a smaller tan plate, raising further suspicion about her intentions. Her estranged husband declined the lunch invitation, claiming he feared she had tried to poison him on three previous occasions.
Death cap mushrooms, among the most lethal in the world, contain toxins that destroy the liver and kidneys. Symptoms may appear after a short delay, leading to gastrointestinal illness, organ failure, seizures, coma, and death.
The tragedy has left the tight-knit community of Leongatha scarred, with generations of two families torn apart by the deliberate act of poisoning hidden within what appeared to be a family meal.
