The victims of a deadly mushroom lunch are being remembered as “very special people” by their church after Erin Patterson was convicted of their murder.
In a message pinned to the Korumburra Baptist Church noticeboard, Don and Gail Patterson – the parents of Patterson’s estranged husband Simon – and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson are described as being greatly missed.
All three died in hospital after Patterson served them beef Wellington parcels laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023.
Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, the Korumburra Baptist Church pastor, was the sole survivor.
“We all greatly miss Heather, Don, Gail, whether we were friends for a short time or over 20 years,” the notice read.
“They were very special people who loved God and loved to bless others.
“It’s been a long journey, and we continue to lovingly support Ian, Simon and all the Wilkinson and Patterson family members through this difficult time.”
The church thanked the community for its love and support during Patterson’s lengthy trial and asked that people respect the privacy of constituents.
“As our Pastor Ian has said ‘Life can be hard, but God is faithful, and He is always with us’,” the church said.
Patterson faces the possibility of life behind bars after being found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
If her lawyers decide to file an appeal they will have 28 days to do so from the date she is sentenced, with the pre-sentence process set to start later in 2025.
Clinical forensic psychologist and criminal lawyer Brianna Chesser said Patterson will likely face “quite a large sentence”.
“We’ve heard during the cross-examination and examination-in-chief that there are some mental health concerns for Ms Patterson,” Dr Chesser told AAP.
“That may well act a mitigating factor in any sort of sentence.”
She said any appeal would usually be restricted to points of law, a “massive” error in fact or new evidence.
The case has captivated the world, with dozens of podcasts, international media attention and members of the public lining up for weeks to catch a glimpse of the trial.
Patterson will go down as the most famous female murderer in Australia, according to senior criminology lecturer and researcher Brandy Cochrane.
The Victoria University senior lecturer said that historically women who kill tended to use “non-confrontational forms of murder” like poisoning, rather than shooting or stabbing.
“There’s a very long history of people being very interested in women who kill because it is such a rarity, as opposed to men’s violence that is kind of regularised in our society,” they said.
Dr Cochrane compared the fascination with Patterson to that directed at Lindy Chamberlain, who was convicted and then exonerated over the 1981 death of her daughter Azaria, and particularly the way the public dissected their appearances.
The jury’s guilty verdicts came seven days after being sent away to deliberate and 11 weeks into the trial.
Evidence released by the Supreme Court within hours of the decision included photos showing beef Wellington leftovers as they were tested by toxicologists, after police found them inside a bin at Patterson’s home.
A video of Patterson discharging herself from Leongatha Hospital minutes after she had arrived was also released, while images of her at the hospital revealed a pink phone police say they never recovered.
Prosecutors said this was Patterson’s primary phone in 2023 and claimed she had used it to find death cap mushrooms online.
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