Australian mushroom meal survivor says 'half alive' after wife's killing

The only guest to survive a toxic mushroom lunch with Australian murderer Erin Patterson said Monday he feels "half alive" without his wife — one of the killer's three poisoning 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 triple murder for serving the poisonous fare to her estranged husband's parents, aunt and uncle during a sumptuous lunch at her home in rural Leongatha in the state of Victoria in 2023.

Within days of the meal, the parents and aunt were dead.

But the uncle, a local Baptist pastor, survived after weeks in hospital and gave 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 pre-sentencing hearing, facing a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

"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 murdered wife, Heather.

"It is a truly horrible thought to live with, that somebody could decide to take her life. I only feel half alive without her," he said.

'Offer of forgiveness'

Wilkinson said his own health had never fully recovered from the meal, leaving him with reduced liver function, ongoing respiratory issues and less energy.

"I very, very nearly died," he told the court.

With regards to the harm done to him, 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 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," he added.

The killer's husband said their 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 September 8 at the court in Melbourne.

At the trial last month in the rural Victorian town of Morwell, a 12-person jury found Patterson guilty of murdering her husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt Heather, by cooking and serving the meal in July 2023.

Jurors also pronounced her guilty of the attempted murder of 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.