The lone survivor of the fatal mushroom lunch that shocked Australia told a Melbourne court on Monday that convicted killer Erin Patterson’s actions had left him feeling “half alive.”
Ian Wilkinson, a local pastor, lost his wife Heather, her sister Gail Patterson, and Gail’s husband Donald Patterson after they ate Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms at Patterson’s home in Leongatha, Victoria, in July 2023. He narrowly survived but spent months in hospital recovering.
Breaking down in tears during his victim impact statement, Wilkinson said: “It’s a truly horrible thought to live with that somebody could decide to take her life. I only feel half alive without her.” He called on Patterson to confess, saying he bore her no ill will: “I encourage Erin to receive my offer of forgiveness with full confession and repentance. I am no longer Erin Patterson’s victim, she has become the victim of my kindness.”
Last month, a jury found Patterson guilty of murdering her in-laws and sister-in-law, and of the attempted murder of Wilkinson. Prosecutors said she lured them to the lunch with the intention of killing them, though Patterson has maintained the poisonings were accidental.
During Monday’s pre-sentencing hearing, Patterson’s barrister Colin Mandy conceded that the crimes were so serious the only possible sentence was life imprisonment. However, he urged the judge to impose a non-parole period of 30 years, noting that Patterson’s notoriety would make prison “more onerous” than for other inmates. Without parole, prosecutors argued, she should never be released.
The court also heard from Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, who was invited to the fatal meal but did not attend. In his statement, he described the lasting trauma on their two children: “The grim reality is they live in an irreparably broken home with only a solo parent, when almost everyone else knows their mother murdered their grandparents.”
A total of 28 victim impact statements were submitted, with seven read in court. Patterson, 50, is currently being held in isolation in prison for her safety, with limited contact allowed with other inmates.
Erin Patterson, an Australian woman convicted of murdering three of her estranged husband’s elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms, arrives at Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, August 25, 2025. AAP/via REUTERS
Justice Christopher Beale is expected to deliver sentencing on September 8. Patterson will have 28 days to appeal once the ruling is handed down.
Written By Rodney Mbua
