Australian journalist Adrian Falk has described how the Erin Patterson mushroom murder case has "taken the world by storm" as he underlined all the "twists and turns" of the trial.
Patterson, 50, was found guilty today of murdering three elderly relatives and attempting to murder a fourth with a meal containing poisonous death cap mushrooms.
The jury at Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell convicted her on all four charges. The mother-of-two served them individual beef Wellingtons with mashed potato and green beans, which were later found to contain the deadly mushrooms.
Patterson had pleaded not guilty to all charges, claiming the deaths were accidental.
Adrian Falk outlined all the twists and turns in the trial
GB NEWS
Australian journalist Adrian Falk told GB News: "We were once known Down Under for our shrimps on the BBQ now it's our infamous beef Wellingtons.
"Today, there’s been some closure, though tragically so for the families involved, as Erin Patterson has been found guilty of three counts of murder involving her family members, and the attempted murder of Pastor Ian.
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"It has truly gripped Australia and, as you mentioned, the world. The jury took just seven days to reach their verdict, and people have been camping outside in the depths of our winter, sleeping in bags overnight, just to get into the courtroom to witness the trial."
GB News host Martin Daubney said:" Adrian, when you look at the evidence, it was overwhelming. It was compelling.
"It was premeditated almost to perfection but not quite, because she left a trail of evidence, both digital and physical. In the end, it was inevitable that she would be found guilty."
He explained: "That’s right. There was a string of evidence she left behind: from the false cancer claims she made, which she said was the reason the family needed to gather for that Sunday lunch, to the mushroom dehydrator she claimed not to own, later discovered at a nearby tip, complete with her fingerprints.
"Then there was the issue of the mushroom foraging, which she denied doing. And, as you mentioned, even wiping her phone. It was just one twist and turn after another, all of which ultimately led to today’s verdict."
Martin concluded that given the compelling evidence, "it was inevitable that she would be found guilty".
The prosecution successfully presented a case that convinced the jury of Patterson's guilt across all charges in just seven days of deliberation.
Falk revealed a striking transformation in Patterson's character, explaining how she had previously been regarded as "a very generous person" who had "inherited a few million from her grandmother, which she donated to the family to help them out."
Erin Patterson was found guilty by a jury of murdering three relatives with a fatal family meal
GB NEWS
The journalist noted: "And then she literally turned on them with this mushroom murder mystery."
The victims - her former in-laws Gail and Donald Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder victim Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband - had gathered at Patterson's home in Leongatha.
When asked about the motive behind the killings, Falk acknowledged the uncertainty, stating: "I don't even know. That's what the prosecutor was actually saying, is that don't expect to actually know the motive of this."
Patterson now faces a lengthy prison sentence, with the date for sentencing yet to be announced by the court.
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