"An Australian judge has sentenced a woman convicted of killing three of her estranged husband's relatives with toxic mushrooms to life in prison, with a non-parole period of 33 years. The sentence on Monday came after a jury found Erin Patterson guilty of killing her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Gail and Donald Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them a lunch of Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms."
"The devastating impact of your crimes is not limited to your direct victims. Your crimes have harmed a great many people, he said at the hearing in Melbourne. Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson's health, thereby devastating the extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents, he added."
"Both prosecution and defence lawyers had agreed that a life sentence was an appropriate punishment for Patterson on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. The defence lawyers had asked for Patterson to become eligible for parole after serving 30 years. Prosecutors had argued she should never be considered for parole because she did not deserve the court's mercy."
Erin Patterson was convicted of murdering her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Gail and Donald Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms at a July 2023 lunch. She was also convicted of attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, who spent weeks hospitalized. Justice Christopher Beale cited substantial planning and Patterson's lack of remorse in imposing three life sentences and a 25-year term, setting a non-parole period of 33 years. Prosecutors sought no parole eligibility, while defence requested parole eligibility after 30 years. The crimes inflicted lasting harm on extended families and Patterson's children.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]