Woman airlifted after lion attack at Brisbane zoo
Emergency services were called to the Darling Downs Zoo, 110km southwest of Brisbane, around 8.30am on Sunday following reports that a woman in her 50s had been attacked by an animal.
The woman, an employee of the zoo, suffered a significant arm injury and was airlifted to a Brisbane hospital in a stable condition.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the animal involved in the incident was a lion and that the woman lost an arm.
The zoo said in a statement posted on social media on Sunday afternoon that the woman was watching zookeepers working in the carnivore precinct when the animal grabbed her by the arm.
It said that at no stage did the animal leave its enclosure and there was no risk to the public.
The zoo said that the animal involved would not be put down or punished in any way.
"Police and Workplace Health and Safety personnel are investigating this incident and have been onsite all morning. The zoo is working with them to establish how this incident occurred," it said.
The Darling Downs Zoo, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in June, houses tigers, leopards, and lions. - BERNAMA
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New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Mushroom murderer Erin Patterson's decision to testify fails to convince jury
A month into the trial of the Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with poisonous mushrooms, her barrister Colin Mandy stood and delivered one of the case's pivotal moments. "The defence will call Erin Patterson," Mandy told the court. Patterson, who was convicted on Monday of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, was the only witness for her defence in a 10-week trial that gripped Australia. She told the court she had a loving relationship with the three people who died, including her mother and father-in-law, saying they were all she had in a frequently troubled life. In fact, she murdered three of them and attempted to kill a fourth by slipping lethal death cap mushrooms into individual Beef Wellingtons she served at a July 2023 lunch, a jury found. An alleged murderer testifying as a witness in their own defence is a rare strategy and normally a last resort, said Nicholas Papas, a veteran criminal barrister based in Melbourne who frequently acts in murder trials. "The risk is that when you call your client, then suddenly people start focusing on your client," he said. Patterson's decision also opened her up to five days of tense cross-examination by prosecutor Nanette Rogers, with whom she repeatedly clashed over minor details. Patterson's version of events – that she had included the deadly mushrooms by accident and she had not died herself after eating the tainted meal due to an eating disorder – was rejected by the jury as unreliable. "You're actually putting (the case) in the hands of your client, and lawyers don't tend to want to necessarily do that," Papas said. "We like to control the process if we can." Patterson, 50, grew up Melbourne, the daughter of an academic. She qualified as an air traffic controller and had been accepted to study nursing at the time of her arrest, after a life marred by a tempestuous marriage and problems with her weight and low self-esteem, the court heard. In her own testimony, she hinted at a strained relationship with her now-deceased parents, who were "in Russia, on a train" on her wedding day in 2007, she told the court. During a 2009 road-trip across Australia with her estranged husband Simon, she left abruptly in one of their many separations, leaving him alone with their son, then only a few months old. She frequently wept as she spoke of her close bond with the Patterson family, including her father-in-law, Don, with whom she shared a love of learning, she said. The judge presiding in the case, Justice Christopher Beale, instructed the jury that Patterson could only be found guilty if they rejected her testimony, which they did unanimously. Patterson initially told police she had bought the mushrooms used in the meal from a local supermarket, before then saying she had got them from an Asian grocer in Melbourne. A 2023 search of Asian grocers in the city found no evidence death cap mushrooms had been sold. During the trial, Patterson said she may have foraged for the mushrooms but did not ultimately know where they had come from. She had also lied about a cancer diagnosis to her guests because she was embarrassed to admit she was actually having gastric band surgery, Patterson said in evidence. She told the court she wanted her relatives' advice and assistance with looking after her two children while she had the surgery, and named a clinic in Melbourne that was later found never to have offered the procedure. From the wood-panelled dock at the back of Court 4 at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell, where Patterson sat for most of the trial, she stared intently at the jury as they entered and exited the courtroom. Flanked by two custody officers, she appeared alert but relaxed during the proceedings, occasionally donning a pair of black-rimmed spectacles to study evidence on a court-issued tablet. The prosecution offered no motive for Patterson's decision to murder her in-laws. Under Australian law, it did not have to prove one to secure a conviction. Patterson will be sentenced at a later date, at a hearing that will consider the reasons for her offending. For now, the only person who truly knows why she poisoned the lunch is Erin Patterson herself.
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Mushroom murderer Erin Patterson's decision to testify fails to convince jury
MORWELL, Australia (Reuters) -A month into the trial of the Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with poisonous mushrooms, her barrister Colin Mandy stood and delivered one of the case's pivotal moments. 'The defence will call Erin Patterson,' Mandy told the court. Patterson, who was convicted on Monday of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, was the only witness for her defence in a 10-week trial that gripped Australia. She told the court she had a loving relationship with the three people who died, including her mother and father-in-law, saying they were all she had in a frequently troubled life. In fact, she murdered three of them and attempted to kill a fourth by slipping lethal death cap mushrooms into individual Beef Wellingtons she served at a July 2023 lunch, a jury found. An alleged murderer testifying as a witness in their own defence is a rare strategy and normally a last resort, said Nicholas Papas, a veteran criminal barrister based in Melbourne who frequently acts in murder trials. 'The risk is that when you call your client, then suddenly people start focusing on your client,' he said. Patterson's decision also opened her up to five days of tense cross-examination by prosecutor Nanette Rogers, with whom she repeatedly clashed over minor details. Patterson's version of events – that she had included the deadly mushrooms by accident and she had not died herself after eating the tainted meal due to an eating disorder – was rejected by the jury as unreliable. 'You're actually putting (the case) in the hands of your client, and lawyers don't tend to want to necessarily do that,' Papas said. 'We like to control the process if we can.' TROUBLED LIFE Patterson, 50, grew up Melbourne, the daughter of an academic. She qualified as an air traffic controller and had been accepted to study nursing at the time of her arrest, after a life marred by a tempestuous marriage and problems with her weight and low self-esteem, the court heard. In her own testimony, she hinted at a strained relationship with her now-deceased parents, who were 'in Russia, on a train' on her wedding day in 2007, she told the court. During a 2009 road-trip across Australia with her estranged husband Simon, she left abruptly in one of their many separations, leaving him alone with their son, then only a few months old. She frequently wept as she spoke of her close bond with the Patterson family, including her father-in-law, Don, with whom she shared a love of learning, she said. The judge presiding in the case, Justice Christopher Beale, instructed the jury that Patterson could only be found guilty if they rejected her testimony, which they did unanimously. Patterson initially told police she had bought the mushrooms used in the meal from a local supermarket, before then saying she had got them from an Asian grocer in Melbourne. A 2023 search of Asian grocers in the city found no evidence death cap mushrooms had been sold. During the trial, Patterson said she may have foraged for the mushrooms but did not ultimately know where they had come from. She had also lied about a cancer diagnosis to her guests because she was embarrassed to admit she was actually having gastric band surgery, Patterson said in evidence. She told the court she wanted her relatives' advice and assistance with looking after her two children while she had the surgery, and named a clinic in Melbourne that was later found never to have offered the procedure. From the wood-panelled dock at the back of Court 4 at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell, where Patterson sat for most of the trial, she stared intently at the jury as they entered and exited the courtroom. Flanked by two custody officers, she appeared alert but relaxed during the proceedings, occasionally donning a pair of black-rimmed spectacles to study evidence on a court-issued tablet. The prosecution offered no motive for Patterson's decision to murder her in-laws. Under Australian law, it did not have to prove one to secure a conviction. Patterson will be sentenced at a later date, at a hearing that will consider the reasons for her offending. For now, the only person who truly knows why she poisoned the lunch is Erin Patterson herself. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Morwell; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Borneo Post
2 hours ago
- Borneo Post
Australian woman found guilty of triple murder with toxic mushrooms
A Death Cap mushroom, an extremely toxic mushroom and responsible for 90 per cent of all mushroom poisoning deaths, is seen at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne on March 31, 2021. – AFP file photo MORWELL, Australia (July 7): An Australian woman murdered her husband's parents and aunt by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with toxic mushrooms, a jury found Monday at the climax of a trial watched around the world. Keen home cook Erin Patterson hosted an intimate meal in July 2023 that started with good-natured banter and earnest prayer — but ended with three guests dead. Throughout a trial lasting more than two months, Patterson maintained the beef-and-pastry dish was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms, the world's most-lethal fungus. But a 12-person jury on Monday found the 50-year-old guilty of triple murder, a crime that carries a maximum of life imprisonment. She was also found guilty of attempting to murder a fourth guest who survived. 'I think it's very important that we remember that we've had three people that have died,' said Detective Inspector Dean Thomas after the verdict. 'I ask that we acknowledge those people and not forget them.' The trial has drawn podcasters, film crews and true crime fans to the rural town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet in the state of Victoria better known for prize-winning roses. Newspapers from New York to New Delhi have followed every twist of what many now simply call the 'mushroom murders'. – 'Delicious' – Family members of the victims declined to speak after the verdict, asking for privacy in a statement issued through police. A lone friend of Patterson appeared overcome with emotion as she left the courthouse through a jostling media pack. 'I'm saddened. But it is what it is,' she told reporters. On July 29, 2023, Patterson set the table for an intimate family meal at her tree-shaded country property. Her lunch guests that afternoon were Don and Gail Patterson, the elderly parents of her long-estranged husband Simon. Places were also set for Simon's maternal aunt Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, a well-known pastor at the local Baptist church. Husband Simon was urged to come but he declined because he felt 'uncomfortable'. In the background, Patterson's relationship with Simon was starting to turn sour. The pair — still legally married — had been fighting over Simon's child support contributions. Patterson forked out for expensive cuts of beef, which she slathered in a duxelles of minced mushrooms and wrapped in pastry to make individual parcels of beef Wellington. Guests said grace before tucking in — and prayed once more after eating — with Heather later gushing about the 'delicious and beautiful' meal. Death cap mushrooms are easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and reportedly possess a sweet taste that belies their potent toxicity. – 'Not survivable' – The guests' blood was swiftly coursing with deadly amatoxin, a poison produced by the death cap mushrooms known to sprout under the oak trees of Victoria. Don, Gail and Heather died of organ failure within a week. 'It was very apparent that this was not survivable,' intensive care specialist Stephen Warrillow told the trial. Detectives soon found signs that Patterson — herself a true crime buff — had dished up the meal with murderous intent. Patterson told her guests she had received a cancer diagnosis and needed advice on breaking the news to her children, prosecutors alleged. But medical records showed Patterson received no such diagnosis. The prosecution said this was a lie cooked up to lure the diners to her table. She also lied about owning a food dehydrator which police later found dumped in a rubbish tip. Forensic tests found the appliance contained traces of the fatal fungi. 'I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible,' Patterson told the trial. A computer seized from her house had browsed a website pinpointing death cap mushrooms spotted a short drive from her house a year before the lunch, police said. – 'Super sleuth' – Death caps are the most lethal mushrooms on the planet, responsible for some 90 percent of all fatalities due to consuming toxic fungi. Baptist preacher Ian Wilkinson was the only guest to survive, pulling through after weeks in hospital. He told the court how guests' meals were served on four grey plates, while Patterson ate from a smaller orange dish. But he could not explain why Patterson wanted him dead. Patterson was a devoted mother-of-two with an active interest in her tight-knit community, volunteering to edit the village newsletter and film church services. She was also a well-known true crime buff, joining a Facebook group to chew over details from infamous Australian murders. Friend Christine Hunt told the jury Patterson had a reputation as 'a bit of a super sleuth'. Patterson said the meal was accidentally contaminated with death cap mushrooms, but maintained through her lawyers it was nothing more than a 'terrible accident'. 'She didn't do it deliberately. She didn't do it intentionally,' defence lawyer Colin Mandy told the trial. 'She denies that she ever deliberately sought out death cap mushrooms.' The trial heard from doctors, detectives, computer experts and mushroom specialists as it picked apart the beef Wellington lunch in forensic detail. Confronted with countless hours of intricate expert testimony, it took the jury a week to find Patterson guilty. She will be sentenced at a later date. – AFP
