Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murders

What happened

A jury in Australia Monday found Erin Patterson guilty of murdering three of her estranged husband's relatives by serving them Beef Wellingtons laced with toxic death cap mushrooms. Her husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and aunt, Heather Wilkinson, died in the days following the family lunch in July 2023. Wilkinson's husband was also severely ill after eating the meal but survived.

Who said what

The so-called mushroom murders case has gripped Australia, and "drew comparisons to an Agatha Christie novel or TV murder mystery," said The Washington Post. The prosecution said that Patterson, 50, lured her guests to dine at her home in Leongatha, a few hours outside Melbourne, by lying about having cancer. Her estranged husband declined, but she deliberately poisoned his family and embarked on a "sustained cover-up," the jury heard in Victoria state's Supreme Court.

Patterson pleaded not guilty to the charges and insisted the deaths were accidental. Her defense team said the prosecution's case was "ridiculous" and "convoluted." But the jury agreed with the prosecution that she "deliberately picked the mushrooms used in the meal," CNN said.

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What next?

Patterson will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.