At 10:18 on Monday, Erin Patterson was led from courtroom four inside Melbourne's Supreme Court building to begin a life sentence in prison.
Her slow shuffle took her directly past two rows of wooden benches squeezed full of journalists, each scrutinising Patterson's exit for any final detail.
Upstairs in the public gallery, observers craned their necks to get a last glimpse – possibly for decades, perhaps ever – of the seemingly ordinary woman who is one of Australia's most extraordinary killers.
Also watching her was Ian Wilkinson, the only survivor of Patterson's infamous mushroom meal in 2023, a cruel murder plot the judge decried as an 'enormous betrayal'.
Mr. Wilkinson had for months walked in and out of court without uttering a public word. He always wore a black sleeveless jacket to keep warm in the chill, having never fully recovered from the death cap mushrooms that took his wife and two best friends.
But on Monday he paused on the courthouse steps to speak to media for the first time. He calmly thanked police who 'brought to light the truth of what happened to three good people' and the lawyers who tried the case for their 'hard work and perseverance'.
There was praise too for the medics who saved his life during the hellish ordeal.
For the 71-year-old, it is now back to the house he had shared with Heather, his wife of 44 years.
'The silence in our home is a daily reminder,' he told the court a fortnight ago as he gave an emotional victim impact statement.
'[There's] nobody to share in life's daily tasks, which has taken much of the joy out of pottering around the house and the garden. Nobody to debrief with at the end of the day.'
'I only feel half alive without her,' he added.
To most, Heather Wilkinson will be remembered as a victim of one of Patterson's heinous acts. But to her husband, she was simply his 'beautiful wife' full of love, joy, and sage advice.
Justice Christopher Beale acknowledged Patterson's actions had traumatized multiple generations and caused indescribable sorrow in contributing communities.
In a poignant closing remark, Mr. Wilkinson emphasized that 'our lives and the life of our community depend on the kindness of others,' advocating for compassion as they continue to navigate their grief.
