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Woman found guilty in mushroom murder mystery that left three family members dead after meal
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A woman who poisoned four family members, killing three of them, is facing life in prison after a jury found her guilty of murder-by-mushrooms.
Erin Patterson invited her estranged husband’s mother, father, aunt and uncle to lunch at her home in the southern state of Victoria in Australia in July 2023 and served them beef Wellington made with death cap mushrooms.
Patterson, aged 50, told police she must have included the deadly fungi in her recipe by accident. But the trial proved she had lied and tried to hide evidence of her culinary crime by disposing of incriminating evidence.
During the 10-week trial, which dominated headlines Down Under, the jury heard how Patterson had invited the family for lunch under the pretext of revealing a cancer diagnosis.
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This picture taken on May 12, 2025, shows Erin Patterson arriving in the back of a prison transport vehicle at Latrobe Valley Magistrate’s Court in Morwell, Australia. An Australian woman murdered her husband’s parents and aunt by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with toxic mushrooms, a jury found on July 7 at the climax of a trial watched around the world. Keen home cook Erin Patterson hosted an intimate meal in July 2023 that started with good-natured banter and earnest prayer but ended with three guests dead. (Photo by Martin Keep/AFP via Getty Images)
Estranged husband Simon decided at the last minute not to attend, and Patterson was originally also accused of his attempted murder, although she never faced those charges in court.
Google searches for beef Wellington recipes have soared in Australia over the last few months, as the trial captivated the country.
During Patterson’s trial, the jury saw pictures of the leftover beef Wellington and heard how family members had gotten sick and gone to the local hospital, where mushroom poisoning was quickly diagnosed.
They also heard from the sole survivor, her estranged husband’s uncle Ian Wilkinson, who testified that Erin had served them beef Wellington with green beans and mashed potatoes in individual portions, but served herself on a different plate.
Erin Patterson allegedly invited family members over for lunch, where she served beef Wellington. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
No traces of the deadly mushrooms were found in her system, and she told police that she was bulimic and had vomited after eating the food.
A doctor who treated the poisoning victims says he had taken one look at her and known something was wrong.
In an interview with Australia’s ABC News, Doctor Chris Webster said he had asked Erin Patterson where she had gotten the mushrooms.
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Erin Patterson was accused of using death cap mushrooms in the beef Wellington dish that she had served. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)
«When she didn’t respond in a way that instantly would have explained it as a tragic accident, that’s it, from that moment in my mind, she was guilty,» he said.
«She was evil and very smart to have planned it all and carried it out, but didn’t quite dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t.’»
Although prosecutors couldn’t find a specific motive for the murders, Australian media outlets have reported that Erin, who had worked as an accountant and also an air traffic controller, had resented her ex-husband, Simon, for not doing his share of household chores. In messages to online friends, the triple-murderer said she had had to hire a cleaner because of Simon’s refusal to help out around the house. The couple have two children together.
Prosecutors untangled her web of lies about the poisonings, including her claims that she had never been foraging for mushrooms, and that she didn’t own a food dehydrator. The kitchen appliance was later found at a nearby landfill site, where Erin had taken it to try and dispose of evidence. Police found death cap mushroom residue inside.
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Patterson’s legal team has 28 days to appeal the conviction. If there is no appeal, she will likely be sentenced in August and faces life behind bars.
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Al menos cinco muertos y diez heridos en un ataque israelí en la frontera entre Líbano y Siria
Al menos cinco personas murieron y otras diez resultaron heridas en un ataque perpetrado este jueves por el Ejército de Israel en el paso fronterizo de Masnaa, que se encuentra en la gobernación libanesa de Becá (este), a pesar del alto el fuego alcanzado en noviembre de 2024.
El Ministerio de Sanidad de Líbano informó a través de un breve comunicado recogido por la agencia de noticias NNA de que se trata de un balance preliminar y sostiene que “el ataque del enemigo israelí” tuvo como objetivo un vehículo ubicado en la carretera de Masnaa. Por el momento, el Ejército de Israel no se ha pronunciado al respecto.
Por otro lado, la cartera ministerial confirmó también la muerte de una persona en un ataque aéreo en la localidad de Kfardan, en la gobernación de Baalbek, que se encuentra en el extremo nororiental del país.
Israel justifica este tipo de ataques contra Líbano argumentando que actúa contra actividades del grupo terrorista Hezbollah y que, por ello, no viola el alto el fuego pactado en noviembre, si bien tanto Beirut como el grupo se han mostrado críticos con estas acciones, igualmente condenadas por Naciones Unidas.
El pacto, alcanzado tras meses de combates al hilo de los ataques del 7 de octubre de 2023, contemplaba que tanto Israel como Hezbollah debían retirar sus efectivos del sur de Líbano. Sin embargo, el Ejército israelí ha mantenido cinco puestos en el territorio de su país vecino, algo también criticado por las autoridades libanesas, que exige el fin de este despliegue.
Por otra parte, el Consejo de Ministros de Líbano aprobó este jueves la propuesta de Estados Unidos sobre el desarme de Hezbollah. El anuncio se produjo tras una sesión celebrada en el Palacio de Baabda, en la que el gabinete libanés avaló los objetivos presentes en el documento presentado por el enviado estadounidense Tom Barrack.
El ministro de Información, Paul Morcos, declaró que “el gabinete ha concluido el debate del primer punto de su sesión y ha aprobado los objetivos establecidos en la introducción del documento estadounidense para consolidar el acuerdo de cese de hostilidades”.
Morcos señaló que el gobierno sigue “a la espera de un plan de implementación del Ejército” y afirmó: “Hemos acordado poner fin a la presencia armada en todo el país, incluido Hezbollah, y desplegar el Ejército libanés en las zonas fronterizas”, según declaraciones recogidas por NNA.
El documento estadounidense propone que Líbano adopte medidas que extiendan su soberanía sobre todo su territorio, incluyendo el monopolio estatal sobre la decisión de guerra y paz, así como sobre el uso de las armas. Plantea la progresiva eliminación de la presencia armada de todas las facciones no estatales, incluido Hezbollah, la movilización del ejército en puntos clave de la frontera y la retirada de Israel de las zonas libanesas que ocupa actualmente.
El plan insta a resolver los puntos pendientes con Israel mediante “negociaciones indirectas y medios diplomáticos”, y contempla el retorno de los residentes desplazados a sus localidades afectadas por el conflicto. También reclama una delimitación “permanente y visible” de las fronteras de Líbano con Israel y Siria. Washington ha propuesto una conferencia económica internacional para reconstruir la economía libanesa y canalizar más apoyo a las fuerzas de seguridad del país, vinculando estos pasos a la visión del expresidente Donald Trump para el desarrollo económico nacional.
El enviado estadounidense, Tom Barrack, afirmó este jueves que el gobierno libanés tomó una decisión “histórica” esta semana al avanzar hacia el desarme de Hezbollah, respaldado por Irán, tal como ha solicitado Washington.
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While she is shutting down her sanctuary state’s migrant shelters, critics are accusing Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey of simply shifting the costs over to a program that makes migrants eligible to receive at least $30,000 in housing assistance over two years.
The Boston Herald reported in June that the Healey administration had increased spending in Massachusetts’ HomeBASE program to $97 million in 2025, up from $9.5 million in 2022, according to state data.
The outlet reported that eligible families in the Massachusetts-run shelter system were being provided with $30,000 in rental assistance over two years. According to the Herald, the total caseload for HomeBASE increased under Healey from 1,473 in January 2023 to 7,767 in April 2025, more than a 400 percent increase. The outlet also said that some eligible families could qualify for an additional $15,000 in a third year of assistance but that state officials planned to pause third year assistance in July.
After that report, Massachusetts GOP Chair Amy Carnevale commented that the HomeBASE program amounted to being «shelters by another name.»
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As Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey closes down the sanctuary state’s migrant shelters, she is facing criticism for simultaneously shifting costs to dramatically increase spending on a program that detractors say makes immigrants eligible to receive $30,000 in housing assistance. (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images and Joseph Prezzioso/AFP via Getty Images)
«Taxpayers are giving migrant families nearly limitless free rental assistance. Meanwhile, federal action means these families won’t be receiving work permits anytime soon,» she went on, adding, «The migrant shelter crisis is not over, and cost-shifting is not leadership.»
This month, Healey announced the closure of all remaining hotel shelters in the Bay State amid the formal termination of her executive emergency focused on the state’s Biden-era migrant influx.
In a statement emailed to Fox News Digital, Carnevale said that «friends, favors, and failures continue to emerge even as she declares that the migrant crisis is over.»
«Healey should rip off the Band-Aid and tell the public whether these same oversights are occurring in the HomeBASE program,» she continued.
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A security guard patrols the emergency overflow shelter for migrants at the Melnea A. Cass Recreation Complex in Boston. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
«The abuse of taxpayer dollars, coupled with a stunning lack of oversight by Maura Healey and her administration, will define her legacy as governor.»
Meanwhile, Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director who blew the whistle about rampant crime and abuse taking place in the system, commented that «instead of creating stability, HomeBase has become a revolving door of short-term rental assistance.»
He said that because migrants often spend the bulk of their $30,000 on upfront costs, many become unable to sustain their housing within months.
«The Healey Administration’s expansion of the HomeBASE program was sold to the public as a solution, one that would save money, reduce shelter dependence, and help migrant families become self-sufficient. But the reality is far different,» he explained. «HomeBASE is now a bloated, mismanaged program that’s failing both the taxpayers who fund it and the migrants it claims to help.»
ICE RAID TIPOFFS FROM DEM LAWMAKER COULD MEAN CHARGES, SAYS DHS REP: ‘LOOKS LIKE OBSTRUCTION’
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Gov. Maura Healey tour a Boston facility housing over 300 migrant families. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
«HomeBASE, in its current form, is a broken promise,» he said. «Taxpayers are footing a nearly $100 million bill with little transparency, no measurable outcomes and no end in sight. The promise of savings from closing hotel shelters is being quietly replaced with backdoor spending that still lacks accountability.
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«This isn’t a hand-up; it’s a setup for failure.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Healey’s office for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
sanctuary cities,massachusetts,immigration,democratic party,border security,migrant crime
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