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Australian Erin Patterson convicted of mushroom murders

Australian Erin Patterson convicted of mushroom murders

Reuters6 days ago
SYDNEY, July 7 (Reuters) - An Australian woman was on Monday convicted of murdering three elderly relatives of her estranged husband with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms, and attempting to murder a fourth, in a case that gripped the country.
Erin Patterson, 50, was charged with the murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband.
The four had gathered at Erin Patterson's home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 people some 135 km (84 miles) southeast of Melbourne, where the mother of two served them individual Beef Wellingtons that were later found to contain death cap mushrooms.
On Monday, the jury in the case found her guilty of all four charges.
Patterson had pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying the deaths were accidental. She will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum life sentence.
The 10-week trial in Morwell, a town around two hours east of Melbourne where Patterson had requested the case be heard, attracted huge global interest. Local and international media descended on Court 4 at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court the nearest court to Patterson's home, despite being warned of lengthy delays.
State broadcaster ABC's daily podcast on proceedings was consistently among the most popular in Australia during the trial, while several documentaries on the case are already in production.
The prosecution, led by barrister Nanette Rogers, told the court that Patterson had employed four major deceptions in order to murder her guests.
She first fabricated a cancer diagnosis to lure the guests to the lunch, poisoning their meals while serving herself an untainted portion, Rogers told the court.
Patterson then lied that she was also sick from the food to avoid suspicion, before finally embarking on a cover-up when police began investigating the deaths, attempting to destroy evidence and lying to police, the prosecution said.
Patterson, who said during the trial she had inherited large sums of money from her mother and grandmother, retained a four-person legal team, led by Colin Mandy, one of Melbourne's top criminal barristers.
She was the only witness in her defence, spending eight days on the stand, including five days of cross-examination.
Patterson told the court about a life-long struggle with her weight, an eating disorder and low self-esteem, frequently becoming emotional as she spoke about the impact of the lunch on the Patterson family and her two children.
She had lied about having cancer not to lure the guests to the lunch to kill them, but because she was looking for their help with telling her children and was embarrassed to say that she actually planned to have weight loss surgery, she told the court.
Patterson had also not become as sick as her lunch guests because she secretly binged on a cake brought by her mother-in-law and then purged herself, she told the court.
The jury of seven men and five women retired on June 30, taking a week to reach a verdict.
Justice Beale gave the jurors in the trial special dispensation to avoid jury duty for the next 15 years, due to the length and complexity of the case.
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EXCLUSIVE 'Killer' teen Sarah Grace Patrick's funeral selfies and fake tears resurface as she's charged with double murder
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EXCLUSIVE 'Killer' teen Sarah Grace Patrick's funeral selfies and fake tears resurface as she's charged with double murder

The 17-year-old girl accused of gunning down her mother and stepfather had curated a chilling portrait of grief on social media for months after the brutal killings, Daily Mail can reveal. To the public, Sarah Grace Patrick appeared to be a teenager shattered by tragedy after her mom Kristin, 41, and stepdad James Brock, 47, were mysteriously found shot dead in their Georgia home in February. The high school student posted tributes, tearful selfies, and even pleas for justice – but never hinting that she might be the one behind the murders. But her haunting digital trail was being viewed through an entirely different lens and on Tuesday she was arrested and charged with the double murders. Police say Kristin and James were both shot dead as they slept in their home in Carrollton, 45 miles west of Atlanta on February 20. Patrick, who was 16 at the time, was inside the house during the killings and called 911 after her then-five-year-old half-sister Jaley discovered the lifeless bodies. There were no immediate suspects or leads, and the couple's death at first seemed like a mysterious tragedy that had left two young girls without a family. For months, Patrick played the grieving daughter who was coping with an unimaginable loss, delivering a tearful eulogy at the funeral and sharing heartbreaking TikTok videos about her slain parents. One TikTok from March shows a slideshow of images of her mother and stepfather, set to emotional music and accompanied by the text: 'They don't know it, but a year from now me and my 5-year-old sister would find them wrongfully shot dead in our home – and they won't get to watch me graduate high school, see me walk down the aisle, or even say goodbye.' In the caption, she wrote: 'I miss you guys, save a seat for me in heaven.' She continued to share numerous videos about her grief, employing various trending TikTok formats for emotional effect. In one, she appears distraught with mascara streaked down her cheeks. The overlay reads: 'Life's hard but at least I have my mom.' The video later cuts to a final slide showing two urns and a framed photograph of Kristin and James Brock, with text overlay: 'Mom?' Patrick also portrayed herself as heartbroken over her little sister's trauma from finding her parents' bullet-riddled bodies. In one post, she wrote: 'I can't help but hate myself because I didn't wake up to find them before my 5yo sister had to find her parents like that'. Another read: 'It hits me when I see my 5-year-old sister screaming for her mommy and daddy.' Several of her videos took the form of emotional tributes praising her mother. 'I don't know if she ever realized… that the person I most wanted to be was her,' she wrote in one post with additional slides describing her mom as 'so kind and so loving.' But perhaps most unsettling are the posts containing selfies of Patrick appearing distraught and in tears over her mom's death. 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Last month, weeks before Patrick's arrest, family friend Kellie Brown took to TikTok to share that the teen reached out to her on June 22 asking her to share information about what happened that night with the public. 'Sarah has confirmed that she was awake the night of the incident and "heard nothing out of the normal". Those are her words,' Brown said in a June 24 video. Popular true crime content creator known as 'Allegedly Reportedly' this week revealed that Patrick had reached out to her weeks before her arrest, asking for help getting coverage of the case She added that Patrick said she had only heard her the alarm from her stepfather's heart machine - which would've been triggered by his death – 'going off throughout the night.' Patrick's original account has since been deactivated, but the disturbing videos have resurfaced and gone viral after social media sleuths re-uploaded her content following the shocking news. 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Patrick, dressed in a demure, pale blue mini dress, can be seen taking to the lectern during the March 8 afternoon service at the Catalyst church in Carrollton, where the Brocks were very active members. She paid glowing tributes to her mother and stepfather, thanking Brock 'for all the life lessons you taught me', and praising her mom as a 'beautiful kind soul with so much gratitude'. She thanked her family, including her grandparents, a long list of siblings, and others for 'helping me get through my worst nightmare' and 'making such a big difference'. Concluding her eulogy, she said: 'Jamey and all would thank you too. I love you guys and so did they, I'm sorry.' During a press conference about her arrest this week, Carroll County communications director Ashley Hulsey confirmed her tribute at the funeral was a key piece of evidence. Speaking to News Nation, Hulsey admitted the eulogy 'seemed odd' and noted that Patrick had ended her speech saying 'I'm sorry.' 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Two including teenage boy arrested on suspicion of murder after man dies
Two including teenage boy arrested on suspicion of murder after man dies

The Independent

time3 hours ago

  • The Independent

Two including teenage boy arrested on suspicion of murder after man dies

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