Australian Woman Found Guilty in Mushroom Poisoning Case

A jury in Australia has found 50-year-old Erin Patterson guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, after she served a family meal containing deadly death cap mushrooms.

The incident occurred in July 2023 at her home in rural Victoria, where Patterson hosted her former in-laws and a local pastor for lunch. Within days, three guests died of organ failure, and a fourth was hospitalized in critical condition.

Prosecutors argued that Patterson deliberately poisoned the meal and cited evidence including a food dehydrator later found in a landfill and online searches related to toxic mushrooms.

Patterson maintained the poisoning was unintentional, but the jury rejected her defense after a two-month trial that drew national and international coverage. The case became known as the “mushroom murders” and attracted widespread attention from true crime followers and media outlets around the world.

Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date, and Patterson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Her legal team has not yet confirmed whether they will appeal.