Australian toxic mushroom meal survivor says he’s ‘half alive’ after wife’s killing

MELBOURNE - The only guest to survive a toxic mushroom lunch with Australian murderer Erin Patterson said on Aug 25 that he feels “half alive” without his wife, who was one of the three victims.

Pastor Ian Wilkinson wept in court as he spoke of the loss of his wife Heather after she ate a beef Wellington dish laced with death cap mushrooms – the world’s deadliest fungi.

Patterson, 50, was convicted in July of serving the poisonous fare to her husband’s parents, aunt and uncle at a sumptuous lunch in her rural home in the state of Victoria in 2023.

Within days, the parents and aunt were dead, but the uncle – Mr Wilkinson – survived after weeks in hospital to give testimony at his host’s murder trial, which became a global media sensation.

Patterson, wearing a paisley shirt, black trousers and sandals, attended the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne for a two-day hearing, set aside for relatives to testify to the impact of her crimes and for lawyers to argue over the severity of her sentencing.

“The silence in our home is a daily reminder. I continue to carry a heavy burden of grief over her untimely death,” the pastor said of his wife.

“It is a truly horrible thought to live with that somebody could decide to take her life. I only feel half alive without her.”

Offer of forgiveness

The pastor, who spent weeks in hospital, said his own health had never fully recovered from the meal, with reduced liver function, ongoing respiratory issues and less energy.

“I very, very nearly died. It has taken me the best part of two years for my health and strength to recover to the point that they have,” Mr Wilkinson said.

“I have reduced kidney function, ongoing respiratory issues and reduced energy. And I have had to face the many challenges of reestablishing life without Heather.”

With regard to the harm done to him, Mr Wilkinson said: “I make an offer of forgiveness to Erin.”

But for her three murder victims, he added: “I am compelled to seek justice.”

The home cook’s husband, Mr Simon Patterson, who had declined an invitation to the deadly lunch, told the court of his grief over the loss of his relatives.

“I miss my parents and aunt more than words can express. I will be aware for the next 30 years that they could still be alive had Erin chosen not to murder them,” he said.

“My children, two children, are left without grandparents as a result of these murders. They have also been robbed of hope for the kind of relationship with their mother that every child naturally yearns for,” Mr Patterson said.

“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.”

The killer’s husband said his children were strong and would overcome the hurdles to thrive.

But he criticised “callous” media and strangers for following his family and forcing them to dodge reporters or leave cafes to avoid the cameras.

Mystery motive

During the hearing, defence and prosecution lawyers agreed that Patterson should face life imprisonment for the murders.

The defence argued that she should be eligible to apply for parole after 30 years, citing the security restrictions placed on her movements in jail because of her “notoriety”.

The prosecutor, however, said the crime was “so cruel and so horrific” that she did not deserve such mercy.

The judge said he would hand down her sentence on Sept 8 at the court in Melbourne.

At the trial,

a 12-person jury found Patterson guilty

of murdering her husband Simon’s parents, Mr Don Patterson and Ms Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt Heather Wilkinson, by serving them the meal at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, in July 2023.

Jurors also pronounced her guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Wilkinson.

At the time of the deadly meal, Patterson’s relationship with her husband had turned sour as the pair – long apart but still legally married – fought over his child support contributions.

The motive of the murders, however, remains a mystery.

Patterson’s trial drew podcasters, film crews and true crime fans to a courthouse in the rural town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet in Victoria better known for its prize-winning roses.

Audiences from New York to New Delhi followed every twist of what many now simply call the “mushroom murders”.

Throughout a trial lasting more than two months, Patterson maintained the beef-and-pastry dish was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms.

Death cap mushrooms are easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and reportedly possess a sweet taste that belies their potent toxicity. AFP