Melbourne — The lone survivor of a deadly mushroom poisoning that shocked Australia told a court on Monday that the actions of convicted murderer Erin Patterson had left him feeling “half alive” after the death of his wife.
Ian Wilkinson, a pastor in the small town of Leongatha, southeast of Melbourne, survived the 2023 lunch in which three others — his wife Heather, her sister Gail Patterson, and Gail’s husband Donald Patterson — were killed after eating Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms.
Patterson, 50, was convicted last month of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Her sentence can only be life imprisonment, her barrister acknowledged during a pre-sentencing hearing in Melbourne on Monday.
“It’s a truly horrible thought to live with that somebody could decide to take her life,” Wilkinson told the court, breaking down in tears as he delivered his victim impact statement. “I only feel half alive without her.”
Wilkinson, who spent months in hospital recovering, said he had only narrowly survived. While he urged Patterson to confess, he also extended an extraordinary gesture of forgiveness. “I encourage Erin to receive my offer of forgiveness for those harms done to me with full confession and repentance. I bear her no ill will,” he said. “I am no longer Erin Patterson’s victim and she has become the victim of my kindness.”
A total of 28 victim impact statements were submitted to the court, seven of which were read aloud. Among them was a statement from Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, who declined an invitation to the fatal meal. He said the couple’s two children were struggling with the fallout.
“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,” he said.
The case, dubbed the “mushroom murders,” has gripped Australia for months, drawing intense media coverage throughout the 10-week trial.
Patterson continues to maintain her innocence, insisting the poisonings were accidental. Her lawyer, Colin Mandy, urged Justice Christopher Beale to impose a non-parole period, suggesting 30 years, which would make Patterson 80 before she could be considered for release. He argued that her notoriety would make prison “more onerous” than for other offenders.
However, prosecutors argued Patterson should never be released. Corrections officials told the court she is currently held in isolation for her own safety and allowed contact with only one other inmate, who is serving time for terrorism offences.
Justice Beale is expected to deliver the sentence on September 8. Patterson will have 28 days to lodge an appeal.
