A Melbourne court on 25 August 2025 heard emotional victim impact statements in the case of Erin Patterson, the Victorian woman convicted of murdering three relatives by serving them a poisoned mushroom meal.
Ian Wilkinson, the only survivor of the 2023 lunch, told the Supreme Court of Victoria that the loss of his wife Heather and her sister and brother-in-law had left him feeling “half alive.”
Despite his grief, he said he had chosen to forgive Patterson, declaring she had “become the victim of my kindness.”
The hearing, which included 28 statements from relatives and community members, came ahead of sentencing set for 8 September 2025.
Prosecutors are urging Justice Christopher Beale to impose life without parole, while the defence is arguing for a non-parole period of 30 years.
The case began on 29 July 2023, when Patterson hosted a lunch at her home in Leongatha, Victoria.
Guests Don and Gail Patterson, Heather Wilkinson, and her husband Ian Wilkinson were served Beef Wellington pastries later found to contain death cap mushrooms. Don, Gail, and Heather died within days from liver failure, while Ian survived after a liver transplant and weeks of critical care.
Patterson, now 50, was arrested in November 2023 and charged with murder and attempted murder.
She pleaded not guilty, but following a nine-week trial that opened on 29 April 2025, a jury on 7 July 2025 found her guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
Since her arrest, Patterson has been held in isolation at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne.
The court heard she remains under highly restrictive conditions due to safety concerns linked to her notoriety.
Under Victorian law, murder carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Patterson will have 28 days after sentencing to lodge an appeal.