
Australian woman found guilty of murder after serving poisonous mushrooms to in-laws for lunch
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 gathered at Erin Patterson's home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 people some 135 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, where the mother of two served them a meal of individual Beef Wellingtons accompanied by mashed potato and green beans, which were later found to contain death cap mushrooms.
On Monday, the jury in the case found her guilty of all four charges, the court heard in Morwell, a town around two hours east of Melbourne where the trial was being held.
Her barrister, Colin Mandy, made no comment as he left the court through a scrum of journalists.
Jessica O'Donnell, a spokesperson for Patterson's estranged husband, Simon Patterson and his siblings, also declined to comment.
Patterson, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying the deaths were accidental, will be sentenced at a later date.
The 10-week trial attracted huge global interest, with local and international media descending on Court 4 at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell, the nearest court to Patterson's home where she had requested to be tried, 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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Optician Tony Nader, 55, was killed at a downtown Halifax business where he worked on Dec. 30, 2021. (SOURCE: Facebook/ Insight Optometry) A man who stabbed a Halifax optician to death in December 2021 has been formally sentenced to life in prison. Cymon Felix Cormier was found guilty of first-degree murder on June 5, with Justice Christa Brothers telling the court she found the 'frenzied attack' on 55-year-old Tony Nader was planned and deliberate. A first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. Brothers delivered the life sentence in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Monday, warning Cormier he may never be released. 'It is a mandatory sentence that the judge has to impose but there's still legal considerations in imposing a correct sentence,' explained Crown prosecutor Scott Morrison outside the courtroom. Cormier stabbed Nader at Insight Optometry on Brunswick Street the morning of Dec. 30, 2021. Nader had been helping a customer at the time and that man tried to intervene. Cormier then attacked him, striking him in the head with the butt-end of the knife. The customer sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Nader died in hospital from his stab wounds. Cormier was arrested a short time later and charged with first-degree murder in Nader's death. He was also charged with aggravated assault for injuring the man who intervened. Cormier was found guilty of the lesser charge of assault causing bodily harm for attacking the customer. He was also sentenced Monday to 90 days for the assault, to be served concurrently with his life sentence. When offered the chance to speak at his sentencing, Cormier declined. 'No thank you,' he told the judge. Fatal stabbing in Halifax Halifax Regional Police respond to a stabbing at Insight Optometry on Brunswick Street on Dec. 30, 2021. 'Most haunting sound I've ever heard' Two of Nader's co-workers, who both left the business after his murder, submitted victim impact statements to the court. Victoria Peterson, who worked with Nader for six years at Insight Optometry, said he was 'deeply loved' by those who knew him, calling him 'kind, compassionate, witty and wise.' 'It was impossible to be in his presence and not smile,' she told the court. 'I can't imagine someone less deserving of what happened to him.' Peterson, who was in the clinic that morning, said she relived that day every time she stepped through the doors of the clinic. She quit her job six months later. 'Tony's murder has affected me profoundly,' she said. 'The clinic – once a place of happiness and laughter – became a source of daily pain … I walked away from coworkers who had become dear friends and though I still miss Insight every day, I hope to find the strength to return someday.' Peterson said her son, who had just turned 14 at the time of the murder, was terrified someone would come to the clinic and hurt her or someone else. She said they have both been in therapy since the incident. Peterson also spoke of Nader's final moments after he was stabbed. 'I remember standing between Tony – who lay dying on the floor – and the front door, wondering why I could hear the sirens but help wasn't arriving,' she recalled. 'Time seemed frozen. I could hear Tony fighting for each of his final, agonizing breaths. 'It's the most haunting sound I've ever heard.' Another co-worker, who declined to read her statement in court, wrote that she was reminded of Nader's death every time she looked at his desk. 'When one of Tony's patients would ask me what happened I could feel my heart skip a few beats and I would start to sweat,' she wrote in her statement. 'Eventually I just talked over the questions.' The woman said she developed anxiety after Nader's death and a rapid heart rate kept her up at night. She recalled feeling angry at her co-workers, especially those who weren't working that day, and only felt connected to the people who were working when Nader was killed. Like Peterson, she too left the business six months later. 'It was difficult to lose that income but my head needed out of Insight,' she wrote. Morrison said, in talking to the victim's family and co-workers, it's clear his death has had a lasting impact on those who knew him. 'It was, I think, something that nobody could have anticipated, nobody could have seen coming, and I think it just, it really had a profound impact on everyone,' Morrison told reporters outside the courtroom. 'Tragic loss of life' During Cormier's trial, the defence argued he was not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. Expert witnesses agreed Cormier was mentally ill but disagreed on whether he was criminally responsible. The judge accepted that Cormier did know the difference between right and wrong, despite his mental illness. During his sentencing, Brothers acknowledged Cormier had a difficult childhood and struggled with mental health, but 'unlike Mr. Nader, your life is not over,' she told him. She also said he will have a significant amount of time to reflect on his actions and 'the disregard' he had for Nader's 'tragic loss of life.' Brothers told Cormier she will ensure he has access to mental health and addictions programs in prison and urged him to take advantage of those resources. As for why Cormier stabbed Nader, the Crown previously said they had a family connection. 'He suggested that there may have been some measure of abuse,' Morrison explained after the verdict was delivered in June. 'At this point, nobody knows whether or not there was any form of abuse. Certainly, there was none that was emerging at trial. So, the motivation for Mr. Cormier appeared to be the belief that he had been abused.' With files from CTV Atlantic's Callum Smith For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page