BY TARA COSOLETO for AAP
Mushroom murderer Erin Patterson has been sentenced to life behind bars but she will be eligible for parole after 33 years.
Patterson, 50, looked straight ahead as Victorian Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale handed down the sentence on Monday morning.
There was silence in the courtroom as Patterson learnt her fate for killing three lunch guests with a death cap mushroom-laced dish.
She sat in court with her eyes closed for most of the sentencing as Justice Beale set out how she committed the crimes.
A jury found Patterson deliberately served beef Wellingtons that featured the deadly mushrooms to four lunch guests in July 2023.
Her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died after consuming the meal, while Heather’s husband Ian was left seriously ill but survived.
Patterson claimed it was all a terrible accident but the jury in July found her guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
At a pre-sentence hearing in August, Patterson’s barrister, Colin Mandy SC, urged Justice Beale to impose a non-parole period, citing her “deprived” conditions in custody.
Crown prosecutor Jane Warren argued Patterson’s crime was so cruel and horrific that she was not deserving of mercy and instead should be sentenced to life without parole.
