Mushroom cook Erin Patterson sentenced to life imprisonment with non-parole period of 33 years

Erin Patterson has been lashed by Justice Christopher Beale for showing “no pity” while her victims suffered slow and painful deaths as she was ordered to spend at least 33 years in jail.

Mushroom cook Erin Patterson has escaped a life sentence without parole for the “senseless” triple murder of three of her relatives, but she will not be free until she is at least in her early 80s.

Patterson, 50, showed little emotion on Monday morning as she was sentenced in the Supreme Court to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years.

With time served, she will be eligible for parole in 2056 as an 82-year-old.

A court sketch of Erin Patterson at her sentencing. Picture: Anita Lester

Justice Christopher Beale lashed the triple killer for showing “no pity” as her victims suffered slow and painful deaths after devouring beef wellingtons she had deliberately laced with death cap mushrooms at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.

Following a mammoth trial in Morwell, she was found guilty of the murders of her estranged husband’s parents Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and the attempted murder of Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, 71.

Justice Beale told the cold-blooded killer, who sat with her eyes closed for most of the sentencing hearing, that four generations of the Patterson and Wilkinson families had been “traumatised” by her crimes.

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

Justice Christopher Beale said Patterson failed to exhibit any remorse.

Instead of informing doctors that foraged mushrooms were in the poisoned meal, Justice Beale said Patterson chose to “follow through on her lethal plan”.

“We will never know whether revealing the use of foraged mushrooms would have made a difference,” he said.

He described Patterson’s poison plot as having “devastating impact” and demanding “substantial pre-mediation”.

“I am satisfied that by 16 July … when you unusually invited Simon, his parents and his aunt and uncle to a lunch to discuss your non-existent medical issues, you did so with the intention of killing them all,” he said.

“The dehydrator … enabled you to preserve death cap mushrooms, which you put into the individual beef wellingtons served to your guests.”

Patterson arriving at the Supreme Court ahead of her sentencing. Picture: Jason South

He accepted Ian’s evidence that Erin served the guests’ meals on four grey plates and served her own meal on a smaller, orange plate.

“I find that you did this to ensure that you did not mistakenly consume a poisoned meal,” he said.

“I also accept the evidence of Ian that at the conclusion of the meal, you falsely told your guests that you had been diagnosed with cancer and sought their advice.”

While not alleged by the prosecution, Justice Beale found that Erin disposed of the four grey plates.

He said her “elaborate cover-up” also involved her lying about feeding her children the leftovers, feigning illness, dumping her dehydrator and disposing of her phone.

He noted that the jury also rejected her “elaborate explanation” that she may have bought the death cap mushrooms from an Asian grocer.

“Finally and most importantly, your offending involved an enormous betrayal of trust,” he said.

“Your victims were all your relatives by marriage. More than that, they had all been good to you and your children over many years, as you acknowledged in your testimony.

“Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health … you inflicted untold suffering on your own children whom you robbed of their ­beloved grandparents.”

Patterson’s offending involved an enormous betrayal of trust, Justice Beale said.

Justice Beale reflected on the victim impact statements penned by the loved ones of the victims, including the offer of forgiveness extended by Ian.

“That offer of forgiveness presents you with an opportunity,” Justice Beale said to Patterson. “

“You would do well to embrace it in the manner he suggests.”

On the steps of the Supreme Court building, Ian Wilkinson ­addressed the media for the first time.

The pastor’s hands quivered as he thanked Victoria Police, the Office of Public Prosecutions and the health services.

“They made a professional, efficient and effective investigation into what happened at the lunch,” he said of the police.

“They brought to light the truth of what happened with the death of three good people.”

He added: “I would like to encourage all those involved to keep turning up and serving others. Our lives, and the lives of our community, depend on the kindness of others. I would like to encourage everyone to be kind to each other.”

At a pre-sentence hearing in August, the prosecution argued that Patterson should receive a life sentence without parole because her crimes were “so horrific, so cruel and so callous” that she should never be free again.

But Justice Beale ultimately sided with the defence by fixing a non-parole period or, in other words, a minimum sentence.

He told the court he believed there was a “substantial chance” Patterson would be held in solitary confinement at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre for years, if not decades, given her notoriety.

The court heard she spends at least 22 hours a day in her cell and is only allowed to communicate with a convicted terrorist who has a history of attacking other inmates.

“The harsh prison conditions that you have experienced already and the likely prospect of solitary confinement for the foreseeable future are important and weighty,” he said.

“In my view, the only scope for making them count is by the fixing of a non-parole period.”

Justice Beale noted that the prosecution provided no motive and there was no explanation for her crimes.

“Only you know why you committed them,” he told Patterson.

“I will not be speculating about that matter.”

She was sentenced to life imprisonment for each murder and 25 years’ imprisonment for the attempted murder, with the sentences to be served concurrently.

If she survives to 2056, ­Patterson will be able to apply for parole that year.

But if the Adult Parole Board rejects her application, she could well die behind bars.

The 45-minute sentencing hearing was live-streamed to the public in a Victorian court first, with tens of thousands of people tuning in across the country and around the globe.

Patterson, who maintains her innocence, has 28 days to lodge an appeal against her conviction and sentence.

Originally published as Mushroom cook Erin Patterson sentenced to life imprisonment with non-parole period of 33 years