"Patterson was convicted in July of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, with a lunch of beef Wellington laced with foraged death cap mushrooms. Patterson was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, who spent weeks in a hospital. Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson's health, thereby devastating extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents"
"Both prosecution and defence lawyers had agreed that a life sentence was an appropriate punishment for the then-50-year-old on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. But 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. Mr Beale said Patterson had also intended to kill her husband if he had accepted his invitation to lunch."
Patterson was convicted of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson by serving beef Wellington laced with foraged death cap mushrooms. Patterson was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, who spent weeks in hospital. The victims were relatives by marriage who had supported Patterson and her children for many years. The crimes cut short three lives, damaged Ian Wilkinson's health, devastated extended families, and deprived Patterson's children of their grandparents. Patterson invited her estranged husband, pretended to have cancer to bring the family together, and had intended to kill him if he attended. Both prosecution and defence agreed life imprisonment was appropriate; defence sought parole eligibility after 30 years while prosecutors argued against parole.
Read at Irish Independent
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