MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – The sole survivor of a deadly lunch laced with toxic mushrooms said Monday he felt only half alive following the death of his wife and he continued to grieve the loss of his two closest friends.

Ian Wilkinson read the first victim impact statement at a sentencing hearing for Erin Patterson at the Victoria state Supreme Court in Melbourne. The 50-year-old will be sentenced Sept. 8 on three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.

A jury convicted her in July of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, with a lunch of beef Wellington pastries and foraged death cap mushrooms.

Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was invited but did not attend the July 2023 lunch served to her parents-in-law and her estranged husband´

See Full Page