Australian woman poisoned ex-husband's family with toadstools, faces life sentence

According to the newspaper, the 50-year-old Australian woman added death caps to the food she served to her ex-husband's family in revenge for what she believed to be insufficient support.

According to the case file, in July 2023, Erin invited her ex-husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, and her husband, a priest named Ian, to dinner. Simon, her ex-husband, did not want to go.

The woman prepared a special dish for her guests – beef Wellington, to which she added dried mushrooms. According to the investigation, they turned out to be poisonous death caps, collected by Erin in the forest near her home. The woman herself claimed that she put store-bought mushrooms in the beef, but an examination confirmed the presence of poison in the dish.

It is noteworthy that the accused also ate beef, but without the sauce, which contained the poison. After the meal, she disposed of the remains of the food to avoid suspicion.

The next day, the ex-husband's entire family was hospitalized with symptoms of severe poisoning. Don, Gail, and Heather died a few days later. Only Ian Wilkinson survived, and doctors treated him for seven weeks.

Erin also sought help, complaining of feeling unwell, but refused to go to the hospital, which aroused suspicion.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the motive for the crime was long-standing conflicts with her ex-husband's family over money and alimony. On social media, Erin called Simon's family "hopeless" and complained about their indifference.

She has already been found guilty of three murders and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. She faces life in prison for each murder and up to 25 years for the attempted murder.