Australian woman commits murder after giving poisonous mushrooms to her parents-in-law for lunch
An Australian woman was found guilty of a meal with a poisonous mushroom for murdering an elderly relative of three estranged husbands on Monday.
Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murders of mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gale's sister Heather Wilkinson, as well as attempted murder by Heather husband Ian Wilkinson.
The four gathered at Erin Patterson's home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000, about 135 km southeast of Melbourne, and the mother of two offered them a separate beef Wellington meal accompanied by mashed potatoes and green beans, which were later found to contain death cap mushrooms.
On Monday, a jury in the case found her guilty of all four charges, where the court heard in Morwell, about two hours east of Melbourne, where the trial was held.
Her barrister Colin Mandy did not comment as he left the court through a group of journalists.
Patterson's estranged husband Simon Patterson and his siblings spokesman Jessica O'Donnell also declined to comment.
Patterson pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying the death was accidental and would be sentenced later.
The 10-week trial has attracted great global interest, with local and international media descending the 4th house in the Latrob Valley Magistrates Court in Mowell, and despite warnings of lengthy delays, it is Patterson's closest court where she is willing to try her.
During the trial, state broadcaster ABC's daily podcast on litigation proceedings has always been Australia's most popular broadcast case, and several documentaries in that case are already in production.
The prosecution, led by attorney Nanette Rogers, told the court that Patterson hired four major deceptions to murder guests.
Rogers told the court that she made a cancer diagnosis first to attract guests to lunch and poison their meals.
Prosecutors said Patterson lied that she was also sick from food to avoid suspicion, and then eventually covered up the coverup when police began investigating death, trying to destroy evidence and lie to police.
Patterson said at the trial that she inherited large sums of money from her mother and grandmother, retaining a four-person legal team led by Colin Mandy, one of Melbourne's top crime lawyers.
She was the only witness in the defense, staying in the stands for eight days, including five days of cross-examination.
Patterson introduced her lifelong struggles of weight, eating disorders and low self-esteem to the court, and she often became emotional when she talked about the effects of lunch on the Patterson family and two children.
She told the court that she lied that cancer should not attract guests to lunch to kill them, but because she was looking for their help to tell the child, and was embarrassed to say that she actually planned to have a weight loss surgery.
She told the court that Patterson wasn't sick like the lunch guest, either because she secretly used the cake she brought with her mother-in-law and then cleared herself.
A jury of seven men and five women retired on June 30 and took a week to make the ruling.
Justice Bill specially assigned jurors during the trial to avoid liability of the jury over the next 15 years, due to the length and complexity of the case.
