Australian court removes non-parole period in mushroom murder case

An appeals court in the Australian state of Victoria has overturned the non-parole period previously set for Erin Patterson, finding that her crimes warranted a life sentence without the possibility of release. Patterson, 52, was convicted in July 2023 of murdering three people by serving death-cap mushrooms hidden in beef Wellington at a family lunch, and received three concurrent life terms plus a 25-year term for the attempted murder of a fourth guest.

The three judges said the offences were “extraordinarily cold and calculated” and involved an “elaborate series of deceptions,” concluding that fixing a non-parole period would be inappropriate. > "In all the circumstances, after anxious consideration, we have concluded that the case involved such shocking criminality that it is inappropriate to fix a non-parole period," Justice Stephen McLeish said.

Patterson’s appeal raised seven grounds, including challenges to jury sequestration and the admissibility of cellphone data linking her to a citizen-science website that identified death-cap mushrooms. The judges rejected these arguments, finding no reasonable basis to doubt the jury’s verdict or the evidence’s relevance.

The case attracted extensive media attention after the victims—her estranged husband’s parents and his sister—died within days of the meal, while the pastor who ate the same dish survived. Patterson maintained she had unintentionally added the mushrooms, but the jury concluded she deliberately selected and prepared them for murder. The ruling means Patterson will remain incarcerated for the rest of her life.