Erin Patterson is serving one of the longest ever jail terms given to a female offender in Australia: life in prison. Getty images
In July 2023, Erin Patterson, a 50-year-old woman from Australia, invited her estranged in-laws over for dinner. Erin’s meal ended in a disaster as she had served a roast Wellington filled with Amanita phalloides or death cap mushroom, some of the deadliest species of mushrooms. Three of her guests would be dead by night’s end, and another would be seriously ill. The deceased consisted of her ex-husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, along with her ex-husband’s aunt Heather Wilkinson; Erin's husband Ian was the fourth guest who was seriously ill and a local pastor.
During the trial, Erin claimed her in-laws’ deaths were accidental. Regardless, in July 2025, finally the jury found her guilty of triple murder, and attempted murder on the fourth, Ian Wilkinson. The coverage of the case received considerable media attention, being coined by defense as "Australia’s trial of the century". Erin prepared the meal carefully, using a cheap beef cuts and even mixing some of the deadly mushrooms in the Wellington filling.
Even though death cap mushrooms resemble edible ones, their bitter taste is masked by the dish's sweetness. The guests ate so much that there was no room for dessert, but by then it was too late. The trial also presents the strained connection between Patterson and her ex, who had turned down the dinner invitation. While it is unclear what Patterson’s motive specifically was, there was talk about both financial greed and dysfunctional family relations as possible sources of conflict.