Australia's 'mushroom murderer' sentenced to life in prison with non-parole period of 33 years

An Australian woman was sentenced to life imprisonment Monday with a non-parole period of 33 years for killing three of her in-laws and attempting to murder a fourth by serving them beef Wellington laced with toxic death cap mushrooms, local media reported.

The Supreme Court of Victoria state sentenced 50-year-old Erin Patterson for the July 2023 killings of three relatives of her estranged husband, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

A jury in July found that Patterson had deliberately served the toxic meal to four guests at her home in the town of Leongatha, 115 kilometers (71 miles) southeast of Melbourne.

Don and Gail Patterson, the 70-year-old parents of her estranged husband, and his aunt, 66-year-old Heather Wilkinson, died from Amanita mushroom poisoning in hospital in early August 2023.

Wilkinson's husband, Ian, recovered and was discharged from hospital. Erin's husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited to the lunch but did not attend.

Announcing the verdict, Justice Christopher Beale called the crime an "enormous betrayal" and said it involved substantial premeditation.

"Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson's health, thereby devastating extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents," Beale was quoted as saying.

Patterson, who continues to maintain her innocence, has 28 days to appeal the verdict.

After the sentence, surviving lunch guest Ian Wilkinson thanked Victoria Police for their "professional, efficient and effective investigation" into the deadly lunch.

"They brought to light the truth of what happened with the death of three good people," he said.