Woman Accused of Killing Ex-Husband's Family with Poisonous Mushroom-Laced Beef Wellington Is Found Guilty https://t.co/RfDpTPQv9e
— People (@people) July 7, 2025
As some of you noted in the comments yesterday, it’s been a newsy week for Beef Wellington. First we heard from Margaret Cho about how she and John Travolta regularly dined on the delicacy (along with boysenberry pie) while filming Face/Off in 1997. Then the verdict came in for an Australian murder trial where Beef Wellington was the weapon. Or more accurately, the conveyor of the weapon. Two years ago Erin Patterson invited her ex-husband and his family to lunch. The ex declined, but his parents, aunt and uncle accepted. Less than a week later, three of the four lunch guests were dead, with the fourth still hospitalized. It wasn’t the quality of the cooking itself that proved fatal, but an extra ingredient: death cap mushrooms, which, as the name suggests, are lethal. In fact, Amanita phalloides are the deadliest variety of mushroom known to humans. And so on Monday, Erin Patterson was found guilty of murder for the three who perished, and guilty of attempted murder for the one survivor.
The verdict: On Monday, July 7, the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in the South-Eastern Victoria town of Morwell heard that Erin Patterson, 50, had been convicted of the murders of her estranged husband Simon Patterson’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, 9 News reported. She was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson, 68, who was hospitalized for weeks following the family lunch, the outlet stated. Don, Gail and Heather were taken to the hospital and died within days after consuming the Beef Wellington served by Erin, which had been laced with the deadly mushroom at her Leongatha house in July 2023, PEOPLE previously reported.
The defendant: As Monday’s verdict was read out, Erin didn’t drop her gaze from the jury, per The Guardian. After previously pleading not guilty to the murders, Erin said at a trial date last month that she accepted that there must have been death cap mushrooms in the dish, The Guardian previously noted.
The evidence: Among the evidence used during the trial, the BBC reported on Monday that images of Erin’s dining room table had been shown to the jury, as well as photos of a food dehydrator which she’d initially denied owning. Erin had since admitted that she’d dumped the dehydrator at a landfill a week after the fatal lunch, the outlet noted. The appliance was later recovered by police and Erin’s fingerprints and traces of death cap mushrooms were found on it by a forensic examination team, per the BBC.
The testimony: The weeks-long trial had also heard that survivor Ian had said Erin had served her guests Beef Wellington on grey plates, while she gave herself an orange one, the BBC reported. She had no traces of death cap mushroom poisoning, per the outlet. Erin had told the trial that she wasn’t that ill after the meal because she’d made herself sick after eating too much cake, the BBC stated.
The history: The Associated Press previously reported in May that Erin had also invited her ex-husband Simon to the lunch, but he chose not to attend. The agency noted that Erin had been accused of attempting to murder her ex on three previous occasions dating back to 2021. While previously denying any wrongdoing after the death of her third victim, Erin told reporters, “I’m devastated. I loved them. I can’t believe that this has happened and I’m so sorry,” per the AP.
The real kicker to me in this crime of errors, is the color-coded plates. At that point, a killer is just helping out the detectives, right? Erin Patterson actually left a lot of crumbs for law enforcement to follow, like being caught on CCTV tossing her food dehydrator in the landfill. She also initially denied to police that she even owned that appliance… only she’d posted photos on Facebook of her using the dehydrator — on mushrooms. (Reminder #1: Don’t commit crimes. Reminder #2: Don’t post them on social media.) A sentencing date has yet to be set, but Erin is definitely facing life in prison.
Wishing peace and healing to her ex-husband Simon, and their two children.
It was a mysoginistic circus in the media.
There was little doubt of her guilt, she made it pretty obvious, however the reporting in general was voyeuristic in the extreme (more than cases with men) The au media do that with women.
The Aus media are as bad or worse than the British media but this case is freakishly, historically, unique, given the number of victims and the method of death. I could only think of *maybe* 5 family killings of 3+ victims in the last 20-30 years- it was never not going to be a media circus.
What a horrible human.
I wonder why they accepted the invitation when she’d previously tried to kill their son? And why they accepted a plate when hers was different? I wonder if it’s one of those things where you think “something’s off” but didn’t want to upset a person who you believe is troubled or who you feel sorry for? Such a sad story.
“The agency noted that Erin had been accused of attempting to murder her ex on three previous occasions dating back to 2021.”
Whoa!!! 😂😂😂Wasn’t that maybe a giveaway to NOT accept a dinner invitation?? The lady must be crazy no?
I think it’s now actually up to five documented previous murder attempts now.
You forgot her lying about being diagnosed with cancer to get the family to attend the lunch. Just many horrific decisions and actions, very clearly planned. I hope those poor kids are okay.
I’m not sure anyone was aware of the previous attempts on her husband – it likely presented as gastro symptoms.
No, her husband was very seriously ill on at least three of the five murder attempts.
The first time, he was so seriously ill he needed part of his bowel surgically removed.
The second, he was in a coma and given last rites, and only survived due to a kidney transplant.
The third, he suffered seizures and became paralysed from the head down.
The court I don’t remember, and the fifth he didn’t eat the food because Erin kept messaging to ask if he’d eaten it yet.
And no one suspected it was her doing on those 5 occasions?
Why go through the complication of a Beef Wellington? Just a mushroom soup should do.
Another “death by cooking” episode.
There’s evidence that she’s been messing with people’s food for decades. In her first job, she was accused of putting a razor blade in a co-worker’s banana. Some of her family died under circumstances where possibly she helped their deaths along). And certainly tried to murder her husband numerous times.
She’s a serial killer imo.
How cold. She is evil.
A criminal mastermind she is not. And definitely a hazard in the kitchen.