The woman condemned in Australia for killing 3 of her relatives with poisonous fungi that served them at a meal

The local pastor Ian Wilkinson – Marido from Heather – recovered after weeks of treatment in the hospital.

Simon Patterson, an ex -partner of Erin Patterson, had also been invited to food, but decided not to attend at the last moment. Initially, she was also accused of trying to kill him several times, but the charges withdrew on the eve of the trial and the accusations did not appear before the jury.

The case monopolized worldwide attention and became one of the most followed judgments in the history of Australia.

For nine weeks, the Supreme Court of Victoria listened to more than 50 witnesses, including Patterson herself. The detectives described how they search their garbage cubes in search of leftovers, doctors talked about the gradual but brutal deterioration of the victims' health and Patterson's husband (separated from it), explained visibly excited the deterioration of their relationship.

The only thing that was missing in the case was a reason, something key in Patterson's defense.

The prosecutors argued that Patterson had pretended a diagnosis of cancer to attract the guests to their home, then poisoned them and pretended to be sick to avoid suspicions.

Patterson admitted to having lied to the police and medical staff about the search for wild mushrooms, having thrown a food dehydrator used to prepare the food and have repeatedly erased information on their cell phone, all of them evidence of their guilt, according to prosecutors.

From the stand, Patterson told the court that he loved his relatives and that he had no reason to harm them.

He repeatedly denied having intentionally put the poisonous fungi in the food, and said that he had realized days after lunch that the Wellington Solomillos could have accidentally included dried and foggy fungus varieties that were stored in a container with others bought in the store.

He also declared before the court that Bulimia suffered for years and that vomiting after food had been caused, something that, according to his defense, explained why he did not get as sick as the other diners.

The lie about cancer was due to the fact that he felt ashamed for his plans to undergo a thinning surgery, according to Patterson. He also said that he did not tell the authorities the truth about his love of mushrooms because he feared that he was blamed for having ill to his relatives.

Finally, after a week of deliberations, the jury pronounced: four guilt verdicts that could make Patterson spend the rest of his life in jail.

The families of Patterson and Wilkinson were not present in the court to listen to the result of the case, and a representative said they would not make any comments.

The Baptist Church of Korumburra, which was attended by all the victims and of which Wilkinson was a pastor, said that the trio was “very special people who loved God and others.”

“We all miss Heather, Don and Gail, whether we were friends for a brief period of time as if we were for more than 20 years,” says the statement published on their website.

In a brief speech in front of the media outside the courtroom, the Inspective of the Victoria Dean Thomas Police gave thanks to the agents and prosecutors who had worked in the case.

“It is very important that we remember that three people died, and that we have had a person who was about to die and that it was seriously injured,” he said.

“I ask that we recognize those people and not forget them.”

And he added that the families of Patterson and Wilkinson had requested privacy, and urged their wishes to be respected.

Subscribe here To our new newsletter to receive every Friday a selection of our best content of the week.

And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and act.