# Australian "Mushroom Poisoner" has been charged with murder & attempted murder (Convicted July 6, 2025) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 3, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-mushroom-poisoner-has-been-charged-with-murder-attempted-murder-convicted-july-6-2025/992534 "2023-11-03T15:11:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-mushroom-poisoner-has-been-charged-with-murder-attempted-murder-convicted-july-6-2025/992534/61 "2025-09-07T08:15:22Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > A fellow prison inmate has accused Patterson of poisoning her with contaminated food, which sounds suspiciously like a bid for attention, but officials did, incredibly, give Patterson a job in the prison kitchen. 🙄 Life imitates art. In the Australian soap opera Prisoner: Cell Block H the character Lizzie Birdsworth was a former farm cook convicted of mass poisoning. Her prison job - she worked in the kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-mushroom-poisoner-has-been-charged-with-murder-attempted-murder-convicted-july-6-2025/992534/62 "2025-09-07T10:46:05Z")
Sounds more like malign neglect. The kind that results in systemic blind eyes being turned on prisoner-on-prisoner violence. It’s not “We never thought she might poison anyone in our prison”. Instead it’s “We don’t care whether she poisons anyone in our prison.” ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2025, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-mushroom-poisoner-has-been-charged-with-murder-attempted-murder-convicted-july-6-2025/992534/63 "2025-09-08T00:21:05Z")
> ## Patterson sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years > > **Erin Patterson** has been sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison. > > The prosecution and defence both agreed Patterson should receive a life sentence for her crimes. But the defence argued Justice Christopher Beale should impose a minimum term when she could apply to be released. > **[Australia news live: Erin Patterson sentenced to life in prison with...](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/sep/08/australia-news-live-erin-patterson-mushroom-murders-trial-sentencing-blood-moon-pictures-shark-net-beach-ntwnfb)** > > Follow live ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-mushroom-poisoner-has-been-charged-with-murder-attempted-murder-convicted-july-6-2025/992534/64 "2025-09-08T00:38:15Z")
Just watched the whole sentencing being handed down, and I have to admire Justice Beale for his restraint. Whilst he was absolutely SCATHING of Erin Patterson and her behaviour, her lack of remorse, and her lack of any any semblance of a guilty conscience, he kept his shit together throughout. I thought it was a just outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2025, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-mushroom-poisoner-has-been-charged-with-murder-attempted-murder-convicted-july-6-2025/992534/65 "2025-09-08T19:20:04Z")
The overwrought Guardian coverage (including the reporter decrying the public’s “ghoulish” interest in the case) is something else. > [@](#): > > Occasionally Patterson would draw her cheeks in slightly as Beale spoke, as if about to start a pout, before releasing them again. Pretty psychic there, Mr. Journalist. > **[‘Only you know why’: how mushroom murderer Erin Patterson faced her sentencing](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/08/how-mushroom-murderer-erin-patterson-faced-her-sentencing)** > > After Patterson was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years, only the question of motive remained [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-mushroom-poisoner-has-been-charged-with-murder-attempted-murder-convicted-july-6-2025/992534.md?page=3)