▲ Erin Patterson, who murdered three members of her husband's family, including her in-laws, in 2023 by serving a meal containing poisonous mushrooms.
The defendant in the "poison mushroom in-law murder" case that shocked Australia three years ago has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on appeal.
According to AP and AFP reports on the 30th (local time), the Victorian Court of Appeal in southeastern Australia sentenced 52-year-old Erin Patterson, who was indicted on charges including murder, to life without parole during the sentencing hearing that day.
Previously, a lower court had also sentenced Patterson to life in prison last September, but included a condition allowing her to be eligible for parole after 33 years.
Prosecutors argued that the parole condition imposed by the first-instance court was overly lenient, and the appellate court accepted this argument.
The appellate court stated, "The defendant lied about having been diagnosed with cancer to explain to the victims why her two children did not attend the lunch gathering where the incident took place," adding, "It was an elaborately plotted deception."
The court further explained, "This was an extremely cold-blooded and premeditated crime," and "After a detailed review of all circumstances, we concluded that it is inappropriate to set a period for parole eligibility in this case."
Patterson becomes the second defendant in Australia to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Previously, in 2001, Katherine Knight became the first person to receive a life sentence without parole in New South Wales after brutally stabbing her husband to death 37 times.
Patterson was indicted on charges of murdering three people—her parents-in-law and her husband's aunt—by putting poisonous mushrooms in their food in July 2023.
On the day of the incident, she invited her husband's family to her home in Leongatha, Victoria, and served them a dish containing minced beef and mushrooms.
After returning home following the meal, the guests were hospitalized due to severe abdominal pain and other symptoms.
Three of them, including the parents-in-law and the husband's aunt, died within a week, while only the husband's uncle survived.
Australian police arrested Patterson after confirming that the food she prepared contained highly toxic death cap mushrooms.
Patterson's husband, who was separated from her, was also invited to the meal gathering but did not attend.
It was reported that Patterson and her husband were on bad terms at the time over child support issues.
The case drew immense public attention as the trial proceeded.
Considering the widespread public interest, the court permitted a live television broadcast of the first-instance sentencing.
The case has also become the subject of books, documentaries, and television dramas.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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