Forget your wildest crime doco — this one’s darker than a double-shot espresso at midnight. Erin Patterson, a 50-year-old Aussie mum, has just been sentenced to life in prison for the now-infamous “mushroom lunch” that left three people dead and another clinging to life.
The Victorian Supreme Court hit her with three life sentences for murder and 25 years for attempted murder — all to be served at the same time. She’ll have to serve at least 33 years behind bars before she can even think about applying for parole. That means she won’t be eligible for release until she’s well into her 80s.
So, what happened?
Back in July 2023, Erin cooked a lunch at her home in Leongatha for her former in-laws and a local pastor. On the menu? Beef Wellington — but with a killer twist. Authorities say she laced the meal with death cap mushrooms, one of the most poisonous fungi on the planet.
Three of the guests — her ex-husband’s parents, Gail and Don Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson — died within days. Heather’s husband, local pastor Ian Wilkinson, was the sole survivor, though he spent weeks in hospital fighting for his life.
At first, Erin claimed the mushrooms were store-bought. Then she told police she had accidentally mixed them with some dried ones she had at home. But during the investigation, things got even weirder — she allegedly dumped a food dehydrator at the local tip, cleaned the kitchen, and deleted data off her phone.
The courtroom drama
During sentencing, Justice Christopher Beale didn’t hold back. He called the crime a “profound betrayal” and said it landed squarely in “the worst category of offending.” He slammed Erin for showing no remorse and said her actions after the lunch were clearly an attempt to cover her tracks.
Despite Erin’s ongoing claims that it was all a horrible accident, the court found otherwise — and the sentence reflects the severity of what went down.
Life behind bars
Erin will now serve her time at the high-security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne. Given how notorious this case became across Australia (and globally), she’s reportedly being kept in a more isolated section of the prison for her own safety.
She’s now officially the longest-serving female inmate in Victoria’s history — at least, unless she somehow wins an appeal, which at this point feels like a long shot.
The aftermath
While the victims’ families continue to grieve, the only survivor, Ian Wilkinson, has shown incredible grace — even going as far as expressing forgiveness publicly. The community has been rocked by the case, and it’s likely to be talked about for years to come.
As for Erin? With 33 years locked away before she even sees a parole board, she’s got plenty of time to think about what really happened that day — and whether the truth ever really came out.
