GUILTY Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 *Arrest* #19

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Sister of Heather and Gail provides statement
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

Lynette, sister of Heather Wilkinson and Gail Patterson, has provided a victim impact statement to the court.

Nanette Rogers SC, lead prosecutor, is reading it to the court.

Lynette says they have missed so many family events as a result of the tragedy.

"It was Don's birthday ... I needed to get him a chocolate eclair. I cried instead," she says.

Prosecutors say Patterson had intent to kill months before mushroom lunch — as it happened

Convicted killer Erin Patterson will face a two day pre-sentence hearing after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the hearing live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[iamshadow21]

Erin Patterson is good at holding back tears...

Oh, mark my words, we're going to see her blubber whenever the moment comes for her team to offer mitigating statements.

Letecia Stauch only cried for herself, after sitting stone faced or sniggering through the most heart-rending evidence and victim statements. I suspect Erin will be the same.

MOO

 

[drsleuth]

now21.05 EDT

Ruth Dubois says 'life feel less bright' without mother Heather Wilkinson​

Ruth Dubois, the Wilkinsons’ daughter, is delivering her victim impact statement.

She says in Heather’s final moments of life she was worrying about her family:

She was more concerned about our own family, our work, our kids, than she was about her own sudden and unexpected health crisis …


I miss her daily and life feels less bright without her.

Dubois says she grew up with Don and Gail as a “constant” in her life. She says the pair cared deeply for those around them.

Dubois says it’s horrible to know that the kindness of her parents and Don and Gail were used to lure them to the fatal lunch. She says:

The world seems colder and harsher knowing this.

Erin Patterson plea hearing: mushroom murderer’s prison conditions ‘don’t sound very humane’, judge says – as it happened

This blog has now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

4 minutes ago

'I am no longer Erin Patterson's victim; she has become the victim of my kindness'
Ian said Erin acted with “callous and calculated disregard for my life and the life of those I love”.
“What foolishness possesses a person (who) thinks murder is the solution to their problems, especially people that have only good intentions,” he said.
But he paused and said he offers “forgiveness” to Erin.
He noted though that he has no power to offer forgiveness on behalf of other people.
“In regards to the murder of Heather, Gail and Gon, I am compelled to seek justice,” he said.
“However, I encourage Ein to receive my offer of forgiveness.”
He added that he carries “no ill will” towards her.
“My prayer for her is that she will use her time in jail wisely to become a better person,” he concluded.
“Now, I am no longer Erin Patterson’s victim and she has become the victim of my kindness.”
After Ian finished reading his statement, Erin grabbed a tissue and wiped her nose.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/families-to-deliver-victim-impact-statements-at-erin-patterson-presentencing-hearing/live-coverage/f0135c998dfec249578f2d733215e4a4#/entry/33455139

 

[MrJ]

1m ago
Statement from Don's younger brother is read to court
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

Colin Patterson, younger brother of Don Patterson, provides a statement, which is read to the court.

He says his older brother was a powerful influence on him.

Colin says Don was crucial in their family, taking the role of looking after their mother.

Prosecutors say Patterson had intent to kill months before mushroom lunch — as it happened

Convicted killer Erin Patterson will face a two day pre-sentence hearing after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the hearing live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Emotional statement read out on behalf of victims nephew
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

Tim Patterson, nephew of Don and Gail, has his statement read next.

"What I do know is the week following my life was the worst of my life," he tells the court.

He describes the anxiety he felt after the lunch, his fears for his parents' lives, and his concerns about whether the culprit would be brought to justice.

Tim tells the court he wrote in his diary following the deaths:

"Why did God decide to end such amazing lives in such a horrific manner?"

Prosecutors say Patterson had intent to kill months before mushroom lunch — as it happened

Convicted killer Erin Patterson will face a two day pre-sentence hearing after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the hearing live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drsleuth]

11.08am

‘She could have cancelled the plans’: A daughter plagued with anger, sadness and what-ifs​

By​

Ian Wilkinson has finished reading his own statement. Now, he places a hand on the back of Ruth Dubios, his daughter.

Like her father, Dubios is facing the judge and not her mother’s killer.

She says the day of the beef Wellington lunch, July 29, 2023, four generations of our families were “handed a lifetime of carrying this unimaginable horror”.

She remembered her mother as generous, kind, patient, and with a good sense of humour. “She truly worked to love others and wanted the best for them. She was good at maintaining relationships. She was quick to forgive and even quicker to apologise and make amends if she thought she’d done something wrong.″⁣

“She was a wonderful example of a mother and one I have continually strived to live up to. Her love as a mother was shown evidently in her words and actions right up until she left us. Her final conversations with us were not about herself. I miss her daily and life feels less bright without her.”

Turning her attention to Erin, the Wilkinson’s daughter expressed her anger that the killer had many opportunities to change her plan but did not.

It is difficult to comprehend how someone could spend months planning this out, researching, collecting the items needed, making the lunch invitation, preparing the meal, sit through eating it, and then to carry on with normal life, all while knowing what tremendous harm that was being caused, followed up by the extraordinary lies and the absolute lack of care shown for the victims.

There were multiple times during this process when she could have stopped, she could have cancelled the plans. She could have thought about the consequences, been honest, helped the medical staff, potentially change the outcome, but instead, at every step of the way she chose to follow through.

Ruth said the impact of the crimes was spread through her family, friends, and the wider local community. “

I constantly feel a weight of sadness about the wider impacts to the community this crime has caused, and the vast number of people outside our family who have been affected. Some who we’ve never even met, the medical staff who had to witness and care for the victims, the investigators people had to witness in court, shop owners who have had their names and businesses scrutinised, the mushroom growing industry, the health department, taxpayers. The list seems endless, and I’m horrified that our family is even associated, through no choice of our own, with such destructive behaviour towards the community.

The ‘elaborate’ cover-up after the beef Wellington lunch and the single word that might have changed everything

September 8 is the date Erin Patterson will learn her fate – whether that be life in prison without the possibility of parole, as the prosecution has requested, or life with the possibility of the poisoner one day walking outside of jail once again.

www.theage.com.au

 

[drsleuth]

1 minute ago

'The world is colder and harsher': Daughter's powerful speech
Ian and Heather’s daughter, Ruth Dubois, spoke of the “unimaginable horror” their family, friends, and wider community have been forced to endure in the wake of the murders.
She said Heather was “a wonderful example of a mother and one I have continually tried to live up to”.
“She was one of my closest friends and someone I cherish deeply,” she said.
“She was the person who comforted me and lifted me up during (hard times).
“She was someone I trusted with both the best parts and worst parts of myself, knowing there would be no judgement.
“Life feels less bright without her.”

Ruth Dubois (front) and Ian Wilkson. Picture: Diego Fedele
Ms Dubois said Heather’s final conversations with her family were about them, “not her own sudden and unexpected” illness.
“We grew up in a home being shown love, empathy and compassion,” she said.
Ms Dubois said it was these good qualities that were “used to lure” the victims to their death.
“The world is colder and harsher knowing this,” she said.
“And for the offender to sit and watch over casual conversation as these people … ate a meal she knew would kill them.
“She could have stopped, she could have cancelled the plans, been honest … instead she chose to follow through.
“I am horrified that our family is associated, through no choice of their own, with this crime.”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/families-to-deliver-victim-impact-statements-at-erin-patterson-presentencing-hearing/live-coverage/f0135c998dfec249578f2d733215e4a4#/entry/33455311

 

[drsleuth]

3m ago02.10 BST
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC is reading a victim impact statement on behalf of Lynette Young, the sister of Gail and Heather. She says:

I’m just so angry and so sad that my people are not here to be the loving parents and grandparents that they always were.

Young says since the deaths of her two sisters she felt like she had to be “three daughters” for their father.

Erin Patterson plea hearing: mushroom murderer’s prison conditions ‘don’t sound very humane’, judge says – as it happened

This blog has now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
2m ago
Tim Patterson cannot believe Don and Gail are gone
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

Tim Patterson describes the despair he felt after learning Don Patterson's transplant had failed after the lunch.

He describes Don as a role model.

He says after learning of the deaths, the "world felt different" without Don and Gail in it.

"Like everyone else, I still ask myself why?" he says.

"Why did [Erin Patterson] choose to focus her expertly hidden wrath on the most selfless people I know?"

Tim says he still can't comprehend that Don and Gail are truly gone.

"In my mind, it's just that we haven't seen each other in a while. They're still there in Korumburra," he says.


Key Event
1m ago
Estranged husband Simon Patterson's victim impact statement
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

Simon Patterson's victim impact statement is read to the court.

Erin is listening intently to the statements as they are read.

"I miss my parents and aunt more than words can express and I think of them often," he says.

He says he will continue to be acutely aware his parents would still be alive if Erin had not murdered them.

Prosecutors say Patterson had intent to kill months before mushroom lunch — as it happened

Convicted killer Erin Patterson will face a two day pre-sentence hearing after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the hearing live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drsleuth]

11.14am

Cruel intentions leave a tainted view of the world: Ruth Dubois​

By​

Ruth Dubois was raised in faith and love. Now, she says, she feels like she is left to live her life thinking that the world is cruel and unkind.

More hurtful, she says, is that her children may live to view the world as cruel too.

This crime has changed every part of my life. How I view the world is very different. My life will never be the same. As a mother, you want your children to have a good life, to experience all the wonderful things this world has to offer and teach them the skills to manage through the hard things. Your instincts are to want to shield and protect your children from the horrors that can happen. These crimes have left me feeling that I cannot do that for my children. They have had to experience and navigate firsthand how cruel and unkind this world can be, and these are traumas that will be carried with them for the rest of their lives. As a mother, I will never understand how you could willingly choose this for your children.

The ‘elaborate’ cover-up after the beef Wellington lunch and the single word that might have changed everything

September 8 is the date Erin Patterson will learn her fate – whether that be life in prison without the possibility of parole, as the prosecution has requested, or life with the possibility of the poisoner one day walking outside of jail once again.

www.theage.com.au

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Simon says his children will be forever impacted
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

He says his children have been robbed of something integral by the murders.

"They have also been robbed of hope for the kind of relationship with their mother that every child naturally [has]," Simon tells the court.

He says both his children are "incredibly strong" and remain loved by the family.

He urged the wider public to let them be in the hopes they would overcome the trauma.

Prosecutors say Patterson had intent to kill months before mushroom lunch — as it happened

Convicted killer Erin Patterson will face a two day pre-sentence hearing after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the hearing live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drsleuth]

1m ago02.16 BST
The victim impact statement of Martha Patterson, Don’s mother, is read on behalf of a relative.

Martha’s statement says the whole family is broken and she feels “broken-hearted”.

She says: “May God help our family to heal after this tragedy.”

Erin Patterson plea hearing: mushroom murderer’s prison conditions ‘don’t sound very humane’, judge says – as it happened

This blog has now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[drsleuth]

1 minute ago

'Violent end' haunts victims' families
A victim impact statement penned by Tim Patterson, the nephew of Don and Gail and the cousin of Erin’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, is now being read to the court.
Notably, Simon has chosen not to attend the hearing.
Tim said the week following the lunch was the “worst of his life”.
He described how Erin ended “such amazing lives in such a horrific manner”.
He said he feels a “sense of peace” now that Don and Gail are with God.
Tim also questioned why Erin decided to make a portrait of “destruction”.
“Why would God choose such a violent end to those who gave their lives to him?” he asked.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/families-to-deliver-victim-impact-statements-at-erin-patterson-presentencing-hearing/live-coverage/f0135c998dfec249578f2d733215e4a4#/entry/33455362

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Simon blasts 'deplorable' media for pressure on family
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

Simon says the media attention has been "remarkably dehumanising".

Simon says the actions of some legacy media outlets has been "deplorable", with his family having to dodge ambushes from strangers and reporters.

He says the family has now become fearful of strangers, and describes instances of being recorded in secret when out in public with his children.

He says this combined with the legal process has interfered with his ability to grieve the loss of his parents.

Prosecutors say Patterson had intent to kill months before mushroom lunch — as it happened

Convicted killer Erin Patterson will face a two day pre-sentence hearing after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the hearing live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
2m ago
Simon concludes his statement
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

Simon says he will attempt to follow his parents' lead by continuing to live in a Christian way and following God.

The victim impact statement comes to an end.

Prosecutors say Patterson had intent to kill months before mushroom lunch — as it happened

Convicted killer Erin Patterson will face a two day pre-sentence hearing after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the hearing live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drsleuth]

now02.23 BST
The court hears from Colin Patterson, the younger brother of Don, whose victim impact statement is read by a relative.

He says the “core relationship” in his life “have been severed”.

He describes his older brother Don as a “powerful influence” on him.

Erin Patterson plea hearing: mushroom murderer’s prison conditions ‘don’t sound very humane’, judge says – as it happened

This blog has now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
Remaining victim impact statements not to be read in court
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

There are more victim impact statements, totalling 28, including the ones we have heard, but the remainder will not be read to the court.

Authors of victim impact statements can request their contents to be kept private.

Colin Mandy SC has no objections to any of the victim impact statements.

Prosecutors say Patterson had intent to kill months before mushroom lunch — as it happened

Convicted killer Erin Patterson will face a two day pre-sentence hearing after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the hearing live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[MrJ]

Key Event
1m ago
A break is called
Judd Boaz profile image
By Judd Boaz

Justice Beale indicates it is time for a break, and says we will return later this afternoon at 2:15pm.

He says that video evidence from the Department of Corrections will be heard this afternoon.

Prosecutors say Patterson had intent to kill months before mushroom lunch — as it happened

Convicted killer Erin Patterson will face a two day pre-sentence hearing after being found guilty of murdering three relatives by serving them beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the hearing live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drsleuth]

11.25am

A broken home, a murderer for a mother and a life filled with melancholy​

By​

Simon Patterson is mourning – his children, he says, have been left to live their lives without grandparents. His two kids must also face their lives without the kind of relationship with a mother that every child yearns for.

Erin Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, is having his victim statement read to the court.

Instead, he says, his children live in a broken home with a solo parent. In a world, he says, where almost everyone knows their mother as a murderer.

“I miss my parents and aunt more than words can express and I think of them often,” his statement begins. “My life now carries the melancholy of facing the absence of my parents and aunt.“

Here is some of the statement, in Simon Patterson’s own words:

Their credible love, support, wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, warmth, gentleness, guidance and humor in both spirit and truth are gone. 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.

Like all of us, they face the daunting challenge of trying to comprehend what she [Erin] has done.

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. None of these hurdles that my children face are easy for them to overcome. The fact these foreseeable hurdles were actively put in front of them by their own mother is an impact we will wrestle with for the rest of our lives.

The ‘elaborate’ cover-up after the beef Wellington lunch and the single word that might have changed everything

September 8 is the date Erin Patterson will learn her fate – whether that be life in prison without the possibility of parole, as the prosecution has requested, or life with the possibility of the poisoner one day walking outside of jail once again.

www.theage.com.au