The trial of Erin Patterson has captivated people across the world. Now, years after the case first began, the 50-year-old has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The mushroom murderer will be eligible for parole after 33 years.
Here are some of the key moments in the case.
2015: Erin and Simon Patterson separate but continue an amicable relationship with shared custody of their two children
November 2022: Simon notices a change in their relationship after he changes his tax return to "separated" and Erin asks for child support
June 24, 2023: Erin hosts her former in-laws, Don and Gail, for lunch with her children at her home in Leongatha; no one falls ill
June 28, 2023: Erin tells Don and Gail about a lump on her elbow that requires testing
Simon Patterson tells the court about their strained relationship and turning down an invite to the fatal lunch. (Source: 1News)
July 16, 2023: At a Sunday service held at Korumburra Baptist Church, where Simon's uncle Ian Wilkinson is pastor, Erin invites Simon, Don, Gail, Ian and his wife Heather to another lunch at her home
July 28, 2023: Simon texts Erin to decline her invitation and says he feels too uncomfortable to attend the lunch
July 29, 2023: Don, Gail, Heather and Ian gather at Erin's home in Leongatha, where they eat beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms cooked by Erin. All four become sick in the late evening
Simon Patterson’s explosive claims can now be reported after a court allowed teh testimony to be released. (Source: 1News)
July 30, 2023: All four go to local hospitals in Leongatha and nearby Korumburra before being transferred to Dandenong and then the Austin Hospital in Melbourne
July 31, 2023: Erin taken by ambulance from Leongatha Hospital to Monash Medical Centre with stomach pains; a toxicologist notifies Victoria's health department about the suspected poisoning event
August 1, 2023: Health Department speaks to Erin for four-and-a-half hours before she is discharged from Monash; she says she bought some of the mushrooms for the beef Wellington from Leongatha Woolworths and used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne's southeast
Four people were taken to hospital a day after eating at a home in Leongatha, in Victoria's South Gippsland area - three of them died and the fourth is fighting for life. (Source: 1News)
August 3, 2023: Victoria Police launches its investigation into the lunch
August 4, 2023: Gail, 70, and her sister Heather, 66, die in hospital after being diagnosed with Amanita phalloides, death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police find a dehydrator at Koonwarra Transfer Station
August 5, 2023: Don, 70, dies in hospital after also being diagnosed with death cap mushroom poisoning, the same day police search Patterson's Leongatha home and take her to the station for an interview
September 23, 2023: Ian released from hospital
Erin Patterson has also been charged with other alleged poisonings involving other meals in 2021 and 2022. (Source: 1News)
April 29, 2025: Trial against Erin starts in Morwell with a jury of 15 empanelled, openings begin the following day
June 2, 2025: Erin enters the witness box to give evidence in her own trial which lasts for eight days
June 30, 2025: The jury is sent away to start deliberating
July 7, 2025: The jury returns guilty verdicts for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson
A jury has found Victorian woman Erin Patterson guilty of murder, nearly two years after a family lunch ended in tragedy. (Source: 1News)
August 8, 2025: Erin loses her bid to keep pre-trial evidence a secret. Allegations she tried to kill her ex-husband Simon are revealed
August 25, 2025: Erin faces a pre-sentence hearing, where statements are read by Ian and other family. Her lawyers concede she should be sentenced to life behind bars
Today: Erin is sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years.
Patterson, 50, looked straight ahead as Victorian Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale handed down the sentence this morning.
There was silence in the courtroom as Patterson learnt her fate for killing three lunch guests with a death cap mushroom-laced dish. She sat in court with her eyes closed for most of the sentencing as Justice Beale set out how she committed the crimes.
At a pre-sentence hearing in August, Patterson's barrister Colin Mandy SC urged Justice Beale to impose a non-parole period, citing her "deprived" conditions in custody.
Crown prosecutor Jane Warren argued Patterson's crime was so cruel and horrific that she was not deserving of mercy and instead should be sentenced to life without parole.
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