Mushroom poisoner gets life without parole after losing appeal

A woman who murdered three members of her ex-husband's family by serving them a meal laced with deadly mushrooms has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Erin Patterson, 52, lost her appeal and had her sentence increased by the Court of Appeal in Victoria, Australia, on Friday.

Patterson was originally convicted last year for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson, her former husband's parents, and Heather Wilkinson, his aunt. She was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, who survived but was hospitalised for weeks. The victims fell ill after eating beef wellington containing death cap mushrooms at a lunch she hosted.

The appeal court rejected all seven grounds of Patterson's appeal, which included a claim that jurors staying in the same hotel as police and prosecutors during deliberations was a "catastrophic" failure of the justice system. The prosecution, however, successfully argued that the original sentence of life with a minimum of 33 years was too lenient.

Judge Stephen McLeish said the crime was "extremely cold-blooded and calculated" and deserved the harshest possible condemnation, according to The Guardian. He noted that Patterson had maintained her intention to kill all four victims for three weeks, from the lunch invitation through to their prolonged suffering and death, and that she had engaged in a "complex series of deceptions".

Patterson, who was not present in court and appeared via video link, showed no emotion during the short hearing. She can still appeal to the High Court. She is now one of only a few women in Victoria serving a life sentence without parole.