Crime & Law

Australia's Mushroom Murder Trial

16 Aug to 20 Aug
5 outlets

Each outlet's article on this story, most articles first

7 articles
6 reporters
By day

Articles per day

16 Aug: 1 articles19 Aug: 5 articles20 Aug: 1 articles16 Aug20 Aug
Save
Cite

Australia's Mushroom Murder Trial. (2026, October 13). The Aporia. https://the-aporia.com/event/839

Dated the day this page was built. The link always leads to this event, even after the stories are regrouped.

Sources (CSV) · Sources (JSON)

Australian woman Erin Patterson was found guilty last year of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill one other by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms.

What happened

The outlets' own sentences, most widely reported first. Hover or tap one to see who reported it.

The 51-year-old was sentenced in September last year to life in prison and must serve at least 33 years behind bars before she can apply for release on parole.

3 of 5 outletsfirst reported 19 Augwording from ABC News

Patterson’s solicitor additionally accused the prosecution of an “unfair and oppressive” cross-examination during the trial.

3 of 5 outletsfirst reported 19 Augwording from National Post

On the other side, the prosecution has appealed against Patterson’s sentence, saying the non-parole period of 33 years imposed by the judge was “manifestly inadequate.”

3 of 5 outletsfirst reported 19 Augwording from National Post

What each outlet says

One AI summary per outlet of its latest article on this story, written from that article alone and checked against it. Open the article for the outlet's own words.

BBC20 Aug

A lawyer representing the Crown is arguing to an Australian Court of Appeal that Erin Patterson's life sentence for murdering three relatives and attempting to kill another by serving them death cap mushrooms is too lenient. The prosecutors claim that Patterson should never be released from prison, citing her crimes as "truly dreadful" due to the betrayal of trust and premeditation involved. If the appeal court…

Mushroom killer must stay in jail forever for 'truly dreadful' crime, appeal court told →3 articles from BBC on this story
ABC News (US)19 Aug

Erin Patterson, a 51-year-old woman convicted of poisoning four relatives with death cap mushrooms, is appealing her three murder convictions in a two-day hearing at the Victoria state Court of Appeal. The key aspect of this appeal is an alleged breach of sequestration, where jury members were housed in the same hotel as a police witness and prosecution team members. Prosecutors are also appealing the leniency of…

Erin Patterson appeals 3 murder convictions over death cap mushroom lunch →
National Post19 Aug

Erin Patterson, 51, is appealing her conviction for murdering her husband's parents and an elderly aunt by serving them a lethal mushroom-laced meal in 2023. The trial judge sentenced her to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years, but the prosecution is now seeking a harsher sentence. Patterson claims several errors occurred during the trial, including the exclusion of relevant evidence and unfair…

Australian court begins appeals hearing for mushroom murderer Erin Patterson →
Euronews19 Aug

Erin Patterson's lawyers are appealing her conviction for triple murder by arguing that the jury was not properly sequestered during her trial. The lawyers claim that members of the jury stayed in a hotel with witnesses and prosecution members, potentially compromising the fairness of the trial. No evidence suggests that the jury communicated with others, but the lawyers argue this still represents a "fundamental…

Australia mushroom killer Erin Patterson's lawyers point to jury irregularities at appeal →
The Independent19 Aug

Erin Patterson, a 51-year-old woman serving a life sentence for murdering three relatives with death cap mushrooms, is appealing her conviction in court. Her lawyers argue that a "catastrophic" mistake by the court led to a mistrial due to jurors being housed in the same hotel as police and media connected to the trial. The prosecution has rejected this argument, with Director of Public Prosecutions Brendan Kissane…

Erin Patterson appeal latest: Mushroom killer’s lawyers say ‘catastrophic’ hotel mistake led to mistrial →

Analysis

Agreed

Reported by outlets on both sides of the middle

No sentence was reported across the range.

Disputed

Picked by our model, which is sometimes wrong

No disagreement the check could confirm. That does not prove there is none.

Framing

How the first headlines put it

Stated as fact1

How it changed

  1. 16 Aug

    Australian woman Erin Patterson was found guilty last year of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill one other by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms.

    3 outlets · BBC
  2. 19 Aug

    The 51-year-old was sentenced in September last year to life in prison and must serve at least 33 years behind bars before she can apply for release on parole.

    3 outlets · ABC News

Coverage 7 articles

Where to start Mushroom murderer trial undermined by 'catastrophic' hotel mix-up, appeal court told BBC News

Suggested from 5 outlets: one of the fuller accounts, no political position was found in its wording and its publisher is declared as reporting rather than commentary.

  • 20 Aug Mushroom killer must stay in jail forever for 'truly dreadful' crime, appeal court toldA lawyer representing the Crown is arguing to an Australian Court of Appeal that Erin Patterson's life sentence for murdering three relatives and attempting to kill another by serving them death cap mushrooms is too lenient. The prosecutors claim that Patterson should never be released from prison, citing her crimes as "truly dreadful" due to the betrayal of trust and premeditation involved. If the appeal court…BBC
  • 19 Aug Erin Patterson appeal latest: Mushroom killer’s lawyers say ‘catastrophic’ hotel mistake led to mistrialErin Patterson, a 51-year-old woman serving a life sentence for murdering three relatives with death cap mushrooms, is appealing her conviction in court. Her lawyers argue that a "catastrophic" mistake by the court led to a mistrial due to jurors being housed in the same hotel as police and media connected to the trial. The prosecution has rejected this argument, with Director of Public Prosecutions Brendan Kissane…The Independent
  • 19 Aug Mushroom murderer trial undermined by 'catastrophic' hotel mix-up, appeal court toldAustralian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson's lawyers are arguing that her conviction should be overturned due to a "catastrophic" mix-up where jurors stayed at the same hotel as prosecutors and a key witness. Patterson, serving a life sentence for killing three relatives with death cap mushrooms in 2023, claims the situation undermined the integrity of the verdicts. The prosecution is also appealing against…BBC
  • 19 Aug Australia mushroom killer Erin Patterson's lawyers point to jury irregularities at appealErin Patterson's lawyers are appealing her conviction for triple murder by arguing that the jury was not properly sequestered during her trial. The lawyers claim that members of the jury stayed in a hotel with witnesses and prosecution members, potentially compromising the fairness of the trial. No evidence suggests that the jury communicated with others, but the lawyers argue this still represents a "fundamental…Euronews
  • 19 Aug Australian court begins appeals hearing for mushroom murderer Erin PattersonErin Patterson, 51, is appealing her conviction for murdering her husband's parents and an elderly aunt by serving them a lethal mushroom-laced meal in 2023. The trial judge sentenced her to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years, but the prosecution is now seeking a harsher sentence. Patterson claims several errors occurred during the trial, including the exclusion of relevant evidence and unfair…National Post
  • 19 Aug Erin Patterson appeals 3 murder convictions over death cap mushroom lunchErin Patterson, a 51-year-old woman convicted of poisoning four relatives with death cap mushrooms, is appealing her three murder convictions in a two-day hearing at the Victoria state Court of Appeal. The key aspect of this appeal is an alleged breach of sequestration, where jury members were housed in the same hotel as a police witness and prosecution team members. Prosecutors are also appealing the leniency of…ABC News (US)
  • 16 Aug Why is Australia's mushroom killer back in court this week?Australian woman Erin Patterson is back in court this week attempting to overturn her guilty conviction for murdering three relatives and attempted murder through a meal laced with death cap mushrooms. Last year, she was sentenced to life in prison. The specific grounds for her appeal are not detailed in the article, but it reports that her case will be revisited by a judge. Patterson's appeal is the latest…BBC

Built 2026-10-13 from 7 articles. Every sentence on this page is quoted from the linked article; nothing was written by a model except the Summary and the items marked AI, which cite their sources, and the questions and labels under "Disputed". Photos are from the outlets that covered the story, never from articles our check marks sensitive.

💬Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

🕘History 🎫Support