Politics
Australia mushroom murderer Erin Patterson jailed for minimum of 33 years
An Australian woman convicted of murdering three elderly relatives of her estranged husband with a meal containing poisonous mushrooms was sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison on Monday, in one of the longest jail terms ever given to a woman in the country.
The presiding judge said Erin Patterson showed no pity for her in-laws after she served them individual portions of Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms.
Patterson was found guilty in July of killing her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, father-in-law, Donald Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, in a case that has been globally followed and dubbed the Leongatha mushroom murders.
A jury also found the 50-year-old guilty of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, who survived the 2023 meal at Patterson’s home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 people, some 135 km (84 miles) southeast of Melbourne.
Justice Christopher Beale said the substantial planning of the murders and Patterson’s lack of remorse meant her sentence should be lengthy.
“The devastating impact of your crimes is not limited to your direct victims. Your crimes have harmed a great many people,” he said at the sentencing hearing at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne.
“Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health, thereby devastating the extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents.”
Ian Wilkinson thanked the police and prosecutors who brought Patterson to justice, as well as medical teams that treated him and the other victims.
“We’re thankful that when things go wrong, there are good people and services and systems available to help us recover,” he said outside the court.
Solitary confinement
At a pre-sentencing hearing last month, Patterson’s barrister Colin Mandy urged Beale to impose a non-parole period on the sentence, meaning she would have the possibility of eventual release, as her “notorious” reputation would make prison more onerous for her than the average offender.
A corrections officer previously told the court Patterson was being kept in isolation for her own safety, and was permitted contact with only one other prisoner who is in jail for terrorism offences.
In his sentencing remarks, Beale said he had taken Patterson’s isolation into account.
“You have effectively been held in continuous solitary confinement for the last 15 months, and at the very least there is a substantial chance that for your protection you will continue to be held in solitary confinement for years to come,” Beale said.
Including time already served, Patterson will have just turned 82 before she can be considered for release.
The prosecution argued Patterson should never be released.
Patterson, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial and said the poisonings were accidental, has 28 days to appeal her sentence. She has not indicated whether she will do so.
Patterson’s non-parole period of 33 years is the longest ever for a woman convicted of murder in Victoria.
Only one woman in Australia has ever received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Australia does not have the death penalty.
Media frenzy
The deaths devastated the close-knit rural community of Korumburra, where all the victims lived.
The court received a total of 28 victim impact statements, of which seven were read publicly at last month’s hearings.
Ian Wilkinson, a pastor at a local church and the sole surviving guest of the lunch, told last month’s hearing that the death of his wife had left him bereft.
“It’s a truly horrible thought to live with that somebody could decide to take her life. I only feel half alive without her,” he said, breaking down in tears as he delivered his victim impact statement.
The extraordinary media interest in the case, which gripped Australia for much of the 10-week trial, had been traumatic for the family, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson – who was invited to the lunch but declined – said at the same hearing.
Journalists and television crews from around the world descended on the town of Morwell when the trial began in April, with millions of Australians following proceedings live through one of several popular daily podcasts.
For the first time in its history, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed a television camera into the court to broadcast Beale’s sentencing remarks live due to overwhelming public interest.
The trial has already inspired several books, documentaries, and a drama series, “Toxic”, set to air on state broadcaster ABC.
- Indian refiners to curtail imports of Russian after US sanctions.
- Top Indian buyer of Russian oil says it will abide by sanctions.
- India’s Russian oil imports fell by 8.4% from April to September.
HYDERABAD: Indian refiners have not placed new orders for Russian oil purchases since sanctions were imposed, as they await clarity from the government and suppliers, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Some refiners are tapping the spot markets to meet their crude oil needs, said the sources, who did not want to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
State-run Indian Oil has issued a tender for the purchase of oil, while conglomerate Reliance Industries has boosted purchases from spot markets, according to sources.
The European Union, the UK, and the US have imposed a raft of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, including fresh US sanctions on Thursday that target Russia’s two top oil producers, Lukoil and Rosneft.
Indian refiners are poised to sharply curtail imports of Russian oil to comply with the new US sanctions, Reuters reported on Thursday, potentially removing a major hurdle to a trade deal with the US.
Last week, Reliance, the top Indian buyer of Russian oil, said it will abide by the sanctions while maintaining its relationship with current oil suppliers. Reuters also reported that the firm plans to stop importing oil from Rosneft.
“We have not placed orders yet for fresh cargoes and have cancelled some that were booked from traders with links to the sanctioned entities,” said one of the sources.
“We need to ensure that our purchases are not linked to sanctioned entities as banks will not facilitate payments,” a third source said.
A separate source said his firm is waiting to see if it can get cargoes from non-sanctioned traders or entities.
India bought 1.9 million barrels per day in the first nine months of 2025, or 40% of Russia’s total exports, according to the International Energy Agency.
India’s Russian oil imports between April and September fell 8.4% on year due to narrower discounts and tighter supplies, with refiners seeking more oil from the Middle East and the US, according to trade sources and shipping data.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday lauded Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, during talks in Tokyo, welcoming her commitment to accelerate Japan’s military buildup and overseeing the signing of new agreements on trade and critical minerals.
Takaichi a close ally of Trump’s late friend and golfing partner, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly told Trump she would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
Sources familiar with the discussions said the new Japanese leader is also expected to announce a $550 billion investment package, including shipbuilding projects and increased imports of U.S. soybeans, natural gas, and pickup trucks.
Analysts believe these commitments could ease potential U.S. pressure on Tokyo to spend even more on defense amid rising tensions with China.
Takaichi has already pledged to boost defense spending to 2% of GDP as part of her government’s long-term strategy.
“It’s a very strong handshake,” Trump remarked as the two leaders posed for photographs at the Akasaka Palace in central Tokyo.
“Everything I’ve heard from Shinzo and others tells me you’ll be one of Japan’s great prime ministers,” Trump said, congratulating Takaichi on becoming the country’s first woman to hold the office.
Takaichi gifted Trump Abe’s putter, a golf bag signed by Japanese major winner Hideki Matsuyama and a gold leaf golf ball, according to photos posted on X by Trump’s assistant Margo Martin.
DEAL ON CRITICAL MINERALS SIGNED
Trump also praised Japan’s efforts to purchase more U.S. defence equipment, while Takaichi said Trump’s role in securing ceasefires between Cambodia and Thailand, and Israel and Palestinian militants, were “unprecedented” achievements.
Takaichi followed other world leaders to recommended Trump for the Peace Prize he has long said he is worthy of.
The leaders then signed an agreement to support the supply of critical minerals and rare earths, as the countries seek to wean reliance off China’s chokehold on the materials crucial for a wide range of products from smartphones to fighter jets.
The deal aims to jointly identify projects of interest in areas such as magnets and batteries over the next six months and work together to develop stockpiles of key minerals among other measures.
Trump was last at the palace, an ornate residence built in a European style, in 2019 for talks with Abe, who was assassinated in 2022.
After lunch with Takaichi there, Trump met with relatives of people abducted by North Korea in the 1960s and 1970s to train its spies and their relatives.
While some were later repatriated, Japan continues to press Pyongyang for a full accounting of all the abductees and the return of any who remain alive, a cause championed by Abe.
“The United States is with them all the way,” Trump said after greeting the families.
The U.S. leader began his visit on Monday with a meeting at the Imperial Palace with Japanese Emperor Naruhito .
VISIT U.S. NAVAL BASE
Takaichi’s gifts to Trump and repeated references to Abe are aimed at evoking memories of a close bond forged over hours the pair spent golfing together during Trump’s first term.
Abe was assassinated in 2022, with the trial of his assailant coincidentally beginning in the western city of Nara on Tuesday.
A similar close relationship with the leader of Japan’s key security and trade partner could help Takaichi bolster her weak political position at home.
Though she has seen a surge in public support since becoming prime minister, her coalition government is two votes shy of a majority in parliament’s lower house.
Trump and Takaichi will later visit the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka near Tokyo, which is home to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, part of the U.S. military’s powerful presence in the region.
Trump will then meet business leaders in Tokyo, before travelling on Wednesday to South Korea.
In talks there with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said he hopes to seal a trade war truce between the world’s two biggest economies.
- Leaders meet in Tokyo, set to visit US naval base.
- Shipbuilding, soybeans, gas are on the agenda, sources say.
- Trump eyes trade deal with China after Japan visit.
TOKYO: US President Donald Trump lavished praise on Japan’s first female leader Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Tuesday, welcoming her pledge to accelerate a military buildup and signing deals on trade and critical minerals.
Takaichi, a close ally of Trump’s friend and golfing partner late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
She is also expected to offer a package of US investments under a $550-billion deal agreed this year, including shipbuilding, and increased purchases of US soybeans, natural gas and pickup trucks, sources familiar with the talks said.
Those gestures may temper any Trump demands for Tokyo to spend more on defending islands from an increasingly assertive China, which Takaichi sought to head off by pledging last week to fast-track plans to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP.
“It’s a very strong handshake,” Trump said, as the pair posed for photos at the Akasaka Palace in downtown Tokyo.
“Everything I know from Shinzo and others, you will be one of the great prime ministers. I’d also like to congratulate you on being the first woman prime minister. It’s a big deal,” Trump told Takaichi as the pair sat down for discussions with their delegations.
Takaichi gifted Trump Abe’s putter, a golf bag signed by Japanese major winner Hideki Matsuyama and a gold leaf golf ball, according to photos posted on X by Trump’s assistant Margo Martin.
Deal on critical minerals signed
Trump also praised Japan’s efforts to purchase more US defence equipment, while Takaichi said Trump’s role in securing ceasefires between Cambodia and Thailand, and Israel and Palestinian militants, were “unprecedented” achievements.
Takaichi followed other world leaders to recommended Trump for the Peace Prize he has long said he is worthy of.
The leaders then signed an agreement to support the supply of critical minerals and rare earths, as the countries seek to wean reliance off China’s chokehold on the materials crucial for a wide range of products from smartphones to fighter jets.
The deal aims to jointly identify projects of interest in areas such as magnets and batteries over the next six months and work together to develop stockpiles of key minerals among other measures.
Trump was last at the palace, an ornate residence built in a European style, in 2019 for talks with Abe, who was assassinated in 2022.
The US leader received a royal welcome shortly after his arrival on Monday, meeting with Japanese Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace.
Visit US naval base
Takaichi’s gifts to Trump and repeated references to Abe are aimed at evoking memories of a close bond forged over hours the pair spent golfing together during Trump’s first term. Abe was assassinated in 2022, with the trial of his assailant coincidentally beginning in the western city of Nara on Tuesday.
A similar close relationship with the leader of Japan’s key security and trade partner could help Takaichi bolster her weak political position at home.
Though she has seen a surge in public support since becoming prime minister, her coalition government is two votes shy of a majority in parliament’s lower house.
Trump and Takaichi will later visit the US naval base in Yokosuka near Tokyo, which is home to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, part of the US military’s powerful presence in the region.
Trump will then meet business leaders in Tokyo, before travelling on Wednesday to South Korea. In talks there with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said he hopes to seal a trade war truce between the world’s two biggest economies.
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