Guests died of organ failure after toxic mushroom lunch, Australian court hears
SYDNEY: Three Australians died of organ failure after eating a beef Wellington dish laced with toxic mushrooms, a medical specialist said Friday during a triple-murder trial sparked by the deaths.Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering the parents and aunt of her estranged husband in 2023 by serving them a hearty lunch laced with lethal death cap mushrooms.She is also accused of attempting to murder her husband's uncle, who survived the meal after a long stay in hospital.Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges in a trial that has drawn intense interest from around the world.Intensive care specialist Stephen Warrillow told the high-profile trial on Friday how doctors had scrambled to save the lunch guests.But as the toxins coursed through their bodies, causing multiple organs to shut down, there was little they could do.'It was very apparent that this was not survivable,' Warrillow said, talking about one of the victims he treated.Another victim got 'relentlessly worse' even after receiving a liver transplant, he said.'We had no other treatments to offer, no other therapies. He was dying,' the doctor said.Warrillow was asked if the organ failure was caused by mushroom poisoning.'That's correct, yes,' he told the court.Patterson was estranged from her husband Simon, who turned down the invitation to the July 2023 lunch.But his parents, Don and Gail, died days after eating the beef-and-pastry dish.Simon's aunt Heather Wilkinson also died, while her husband Ian fell seriously ill but later recovered.The court earlier heard how Erin Patterson had sent messages to a Facebook group chat in December 2022, several months prior to the lunch, saying she wanted 'nothing to do' with her in-laws.Patterson and estranged husband Simon were at odds over finances and child support, the court heard, and she had sought help from his parents, who refused to intervene.'I'm sick of this shit I want nothing to do with them,' Patterson wrote in one message.The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests and took care that she did not consume the deadly mushrooms herself.Her defense says it was 'a terrible accident' and that Patterson ate the same meal as the others but did not fall as sick.The trial is expected to last another two weeks.
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Australian mushroom murder suspect denies intent to kill
SYDNEY: An Australian woman accused of murdering three lunch guests with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington denied Thursday that she intended to kill them. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering her estranged husband's parents and aunt in July 2023 by spiking the beef-and-pastry dish with death cap mushrooms. She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest — her husband's uncle — who survived the lunch after a long stay in hospital. Patterson denies all charges in the trial, which has grabbed worldwide attention. She says the traditional English dish, which she cooked in individually sized portions, was poisoned by accident. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers concluded her cross-examination of Patterson on Thursday by suggesting she deliberately sought death cap mushrooms and put them in the beef Wellington. Patterson rejected each accusation. Rogers put it to Patterson that she intended to kill her lunch guests. Patterson replied: 'Disagree.' The court also heard about two mobile devices used by Patterson — phone A, which was the main device she used, and phone B, which was activated days after the lunch. Patterson said she began using phone B when her main phone was damaged. Rogers alleged the main phone had been used to view online posts about death cap mushroom sightings near Patterson's home in the months before the fatal lunch. Patterson disagreed. While police were searching Patterson's home on August 5, 2023, her main phone lost connection to the network. Police have not located the device since. Instead, Patterson handed over phone B to authorities. That device underwent a factory reset three times in the days after the lunch, Rogers said. The prosecutor alleged that the resets were done 'to conceal the true contents of phone B' and that Patterson had hidden her original phone from police because 'the data on that device would incriminate you.' Patterson disagreed with both statements. She has previously said phone B belonged to her son and she conducted the resets to remove his data so she could use the device. The lunch host originally invited her estranged husband Simon to join the family meal at her secluded home in the Victoria state farm village of Leongatha. But Simon turned down the invitation saying he felt uncomfortable going, the court heard earlier. The pair were long estranged but still legally married. Simon's parents Don and Gail, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, attended the lunch. All three were dead within days. Heather's husband Ian fell gravely ill but recovered. The trial in Morwell, southeast of Melbourne, is expected to last another two weeks.
Arab News
2 days ago
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Australian murder suspect denies drying deadly mushrooms
SYDNEY: An Australian woman accused of murdering three people with death cap mushrooms denied Wednesday that she turned the fungi into dry powder for the fatal meal. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering her estranged husband's parents and aunt in July 2023 by spiking a beef Wellington lunch with the mushrooms. She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth lunch guest – her husband's uncle – who survived the dish after a long stay in hospital. Patterson denies all charges in the trial, which has made headlines worldwide. She says the beef-and-pastry dish, which she cooked in individually sized portions, was poisoned by accident. Three months before the lunch, phone records placed Patterson in the Victoria state township of Loch, where a sighting of death cap mushrooms had been posted online, the court heard. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers alleged that within two hours of finding death cap mushrooms in Loch, Patterson bought a dehydrator to use on the fungi. Patterson admitted to buying the dehydrator. But she denied purchasing it to dry the death cap mushrooms or that she went to Loch to find the dangerous fungi. A month later, phone records placed Patterson in a second town in the area, Outtrim, just days after a sighting of death cap mushrooms had been posted online, the court heard. Patterson denied she went to the area to find the fungi, but said she may have driven by the area. Rogers suggested Patterson 'blitzed' the death cap mushrooms into a powder in order to hide them in the meal. 'Disagree,' Patterson said. The court heard Patterson had told people that she served the beef Wellington leftovers to her children a day after the lunch, as her sickened guests lay in hospital. The accused said she scraped off the mushroom and pastry from the dish because her children were fussy eaters. The prosecutor asked Patterson why she would feed leftovers to her children, while knowing or suspecting that the same meal had put her guests in hospital. 'I didn't know or suspect that,' Patterson replied. The prosecutor accused her of telling a 'lie about feeding the leftovers' because it gave her 'some distance from a deliberate poisoning.' Patterson replied: 'I don't see how it could, but I disagree.' The home cook had also invited her estranged husband Simon to join the family lunch at her secluded home in the Victoria state farm village of Leongatha. But Simon turned down the invitation saying he felt uncomfortable going, the court heard previously. The pair were long estranged but still legally married. Simon's parents Don and Gail, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, attended the lunch. All three were dead within days. Heather's husband Ian fell gravely ill but recovered. The trial in Morwell, southeast of Melbourne, is expected to last another two weeks.
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