Australian triple murderer jailed for life over toxic mushroom lunch
A man in Australia has been sentenced to life in prison for killing three of his coworkers after serving them lunch laced with poisonous mushrooms.
Police found no trace of malicious intent
Police concluded that the defendant, 47-year-old Robert William Bourke, had no intention of harming the victims.
The toxic mushroom lunch
The victims, two men and a woman, ate a vegetable stew laced with poisonous mushrooms. A post-mortem analysis found that the mushrooms were the likely cause of death.
Sentence and investigation
Bourke was sentenced to three life sentences, to be served concurrently. He will be eligible to apply for parole in 12 years.
Police established that Bourke had picked the mushrooms from a property in Glen Innes, where he had previously been a guest. The owner of the property was not charged, as it was deemed that he had not acted maliciously.
