The sole survivor of a poisonous meal laced with toxic mushrooms told an Australian court Monday that he felt only “half alive” following the death of his wife and the loss of his two closest friends.
Ian Wilkinson read his victim impact statement at a sentencing hearing for Erin Patterson, 50, at the Victoria state Supreme Court in Melbourne. Patterson will be sentenced on Sept. 8 on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.
A jury convicted Patterson in July of murdering Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, with a lunch of beef Wellington pasties and foraged death cap mushrooms.
Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was invited to the lunch in July 2023 but did not attend.
She was also convicted of attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, who also ate the lunch. He then spent weeks in a hospital and survived after receiving a liver transplant.
The prosecution argued for a life sentence without the possibility of parole, while defence lawyers want Patterson to become eligible for release after serving 30 years.
When describing his late wife to the court, Wilkinson said she was full of love, kindness and self-control.
“I only feel half alive without her,” he said, before weeping. “It’s one of the distressing shortcomings of our society that so much attention is showered on those who do evil and so little on those who do good.”
He also said his life “is greatly impoverished without” Gail and Don Patterson, the parents of Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon.
“I’m distressed that Erin has acted with callous and calculated disregard for my life and the lives of those I love,” he said. “What foolishness possesses a person to think that murder could be the solution to their problems, especially the murder of people who have only good intentions towards her?”
Wilkinson did offer Patterson forgiveness for what she has done.
“My prayer for her is that she will use her time in jail wisely to become a better person,” he added.
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Patterson, who faces life in prison, attended court in person on Monday and appeared emotionally moved by Wilkinson. Seven relatives of victims read their impact statements to the court, with some having them read on their behalf.
Patterson’s lawyers previously claimed she had no reason to commit the murders as she had recently moved into a new home, was financially comfortable and had sole custody of her children. They also said that she was due to begin studying for a degree in nursing and midwifery.
But prosecutors suggested Patterson had two faces: the woman who publicly appeared to have a good relationship with her parents-in-law, and her true feelings about them, which were kept hidden.
The day after the meal, all four of Patterson’s guests were hospitalized with poisoning from death cap mushrooms, also known as amanita phalloides, that were added to the beef dish.
“I had felt for some months that my relationship with the wider Patterson family, and particularly Don and Gail, perhaps had a bit more distance or space put between us,” Patterson previously said during the trial. “We saw each other less.”
Wilkinson previously told the courtroom that Patterson had plated “all of the food” and appeared “reluctant” for her lunch guests to go into her pantry.
“Each person had an individual serve, it was very much like a pasty,” Wilkinson said. “It was a pastry case and when we cut into it, there was steak and mushrooms.”
He said they all ate from four grey plates and Patterson ate from an “orangey tan” plate.
“Erin picked up the odd plate and carried it to the table. She took it to her place at the table,” he told the court.
Wilkinson also said his wife told him the next day that she “noticed the difference in colours” of the plates.
He said he and his wife “ate the entire meal,” while Don ate his meal and half of the beef Wellington that Gail did not finish.
“There was talk about husbands helping their wives out,” he said.
Wilkinson described how he and his wife became very sick afterwards, experiencing vomiting and diarrhea the same evening as the lunch, but dismissed the symptoms as gastroenteritis.
Wilkinson said doctors treated them for food poisoning and “suspicion was falling on the meat.” He said he didn’t hear any mention of the mushrooms at the time.
The next morning, medical staff at the hospital told the couple their situation was “serious.” Wilkinson said he was “abruptly woken up by a group of nurses who literally ran us down the corridor in our beds to the urgent care area.”
He claims that a doctor told them he suspected they had “mushroom poisoning.”
“He was very frank. He said it is a very serious situation. He said there was time-critical treatment available,” Wilkinson added.
Patterson faces a potential life sentence for each of the murders and 25 years for attempted murder.
She will have a month after her sentencing to lodge an appeal against her sentence and conviction.
In Canada, death cap mushrooms are present in many of B.C.’s forests but may also be found in city environments associated with many species of imported trees. According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, the mushrooms have been spotted on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland.
Death cap mushrooms look similar to common puffball mushrooms, but should never be eaten. If you suspect you may have consumed a death cap mushroom, you should seek emergency medical care immediately.
Symptoms of being poisoned by a death cap mushroom include low blood pressure, nausea and vomiting.
— With files from Global News and The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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