Patterson’s motive remains a mystery, as she begins her life sentencepublished at 07:27 British Summer Time
07:27 BST
Katy Watson
Reporting from the court
The sentencing of Erin Patterson comes just over two years
since she invited her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson to lunch at her house,
along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian.
Erin Patterson’s motive remains a mystery – and perhaps
that’s why this case has garnered so much attention. Why would a devoted mother
of two try and kill relatives who, as the judge said, had been good to her?
It
was, he said, an enormous betrayal of trust.
And it was a horrendous crime – Ian and Heather’s son David
remembers his mother saying her insides were burning as she lay dying in
hospital. His father’s face appeared tortured – black lips, gaunt face and a serious expression.
Patterson now begins her life sentence at the Dame
Phyllis Frost Centre, a prison she’s been at since November 2023. She’s being held in
relative isolation – in a wing where prisoners are not allowed to mix and meals
are delivered via a flap in the cell door.
Such is her notoriety, said the
judge this morning, that the conditions in prison will be hard. Solitary
confinement is a likely prospect because of the risk posed by other prisoners, he said.
The attention on this case has been unprecedented. That’s
why the judge decided to broadcast the sentencing live. True crime fans who’ve
followed this case from the beginning were in court again today to see this to
the very end.
Ian Wilkinson, the only survivor of the lunch asked for
privacy – a family that’s been deeply private since the awful events of that
lunch in July 2023 wants to grieve quietly now the sentencing is over.
We’re ending our live coverage now – you can read more in our news story here.