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BreakingNews.ie
13 hours ago
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Woman on trial for mushroom murders says she was trying to improve ‘bland' lunch
An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's relatives with poisonous mushrooms told a court she had been trying to improve a 'bland' recipe for them. Before Erin Patterson's in-laws and their relatives arrived at her home for lunch, she bought expensive ingredients, consulted friends about recipes and sent her children out to see a film. Advertisement Then she served them a dish containing poisonous death cap mushrooms — a meal that was fatal for three of her four guests. Whether that was Patterson's plan is at the heart of a triple murder trial that has gripped Australia for nearly six weeks. Prosecutors in the Supreme Court case in the state of Victoria say the accused lured her guests to lunch with a lie about having cancer, before deliberately feeding them toxic fungi. Ian Wilkinson leaving the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell, Australia, on Wednesday (James Ross/AAP Image via AP) But her lawyers say the tainted beef Wellington she served was a tragic accident caused by a mushroom storage mishap. She denies murdering her estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and their relative, Heather Wilkinson. Advertisement The mother of two also denies attempting to murder Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, who survived the meal. In a rare step for a defendant charged with murder, Patterson chose to speak in her own defence at her trial this week. On Wednesday, she spoke publicly for the first time about the fateful lunch in July 2023 and offered her explanations on how she planned the meal and did not become ill herself. No one disputes that Patterson, 50, served death cap mushrooms to her guests for lunch in the rural town of Leongatha, but she says she did it unknowingly. Patterson said on Wednesday she splurged on expensive ingredients and researched ideas to find 'something special' to serve. She deviated from her chosen recipe to improve the 'bland' flavour, she said. Advertisement She believed she was adding dried fungi bought from an Asian supermarket from a container in her pantry, she told the court. 'Now I think that there was a possibility that there were foraged ones in there as well,' she told her lawyer, Colin Mandy. Patterson had foraged wild mushrooms for years, she told the court Tuesday, and had put some in her pantry weeks before the deaths. Patterson, who formally separated from her husband Simon Patterson in 2015, said she felt 'hurt' when Simon told her the night before the lunch that he 'wasn't comfortable' attending. She earlier told his relatives that she had arranged the meal to discuss her health. Patterson admitted this week that she never had cancer — but after a health scare, she told her in-laws she did. Advertisement In reality, Patterson said she intended to have weight loss surgery. But she was too embarrassed to tell anybody and planned to pretend to her in-laws that she was undergoing cancer treatment instead, she said. 'I was ashamed of the fact that I didn't have control over my body or what I ate,' a tearful Patterson said Wednesday. 'I didn't want to tell anybody, but I shouldn't have lied to them.' The accused said she believes she was spared the worst effects of the poisoned meal because she self-induced vomiting shortly after her lunch guests left. She had binged on most of a cake and then made herself throw up — a problem she said she had struggled with for decades. Patterson also said she believes she had eaten enough of the meal to cause her subsequent diarrhoea. She then sought hospital treatment but unlike her lunch guests, she quickly recovered. Advertisement At the hospital where her guests' health was deteriorating, her estranged husband asked her about the dehydrator she used to dry her foraged mushrooms, she said. 'Is that how you poisoned my parents?' she said Simon Patterson asked her. Growing afraid she would be blamed for the poisoning and that her children would be taken from her, Patterson said she later disposed of her dehydrator. She told investigators she'd never owned one and had not foraged for mushrooms before. While still at the hospital, she insisted she'd bought all the mushrooms at stores even though she said she knew it was possible that foraged mushrooms had accidentally found their way into the meal. She was too frightened to tell anyone, Patterson said. Also later, Patterson said she remotely wiped her mobile phone while it sat in an evidence locker to remove pictures of mushrooms she had foraged. Prosecutors argued in opening their case in April that she poisoned her husband's family on purpose, although they did not suggest a motive. She carefully avoided poisoning herself and faked being ill, they said. The trial continues with Patterson's cross-examination by the prosecutors. If convicted, she faces life in prison for murder and 25 years for attempted murder.
ABC News
3 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Erin Patterson murder trial live: More witnesses give evidence in fatal mushroom lunch case
The triple murder trial of Erin Patterson continues at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell. She's accused of murdering three relatives by serving them a beef Wellington meal that contained death cap mushrooms. Follow the trial in our live blog.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
Protester accosts judge as Erin Patterson trial hears how officials tried to find source of deadly mushrooms
Erin Patterson spent days after the beef wellington lunch speaking with a department of health official in detail about sourcing the mushrooms for the meal from an Asian grocer and Woolworths, a Victorian court has heard. Day 19 of Patterson's trial at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell was also interrupted by a protester, who shouted accusations at Justice Christopher Beale before being escorted out of the room by police. Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha in South Gippsland on 29 July 2023. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering or attempting to murder the relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson. She is accused of murdering Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Simon's uncle and Heather's husband. The court was interrupted early on Monday, as a man wearing a yellow T-shirt featuring the message 'All we are saying is give truth a chance' shouted accusations that murder cases had been 'rigged' . Beale did not comment as the man was quickly walked from the court by a police officer. Later, the court heard from Sallyann Atkinson, a department of health official who was tasked with investigating the circumstances of the lunch after the Pattersons and Wilkinsons were taken to hospital on 30 July 2023. A report was made to the department in order for them to investigate whether a broader public health response was required. Atkinson said she exchanged multiple phone calls and text messages with Patterson between 1 August and 4 August in an attempt to establish the source of the mushrooms used in the meal. The court has previously heard Patterson told multiple people, including family members and health professionals, that she used fresh mushrooms from a local Woolworths supermarket and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne. Atkinson said that in one of her first conversations with Patterson she said the beef wellington was something she had never made before, but she'd cooked it as 'she wanted to do something fancy'. Atkinson told the court she then struggled to get hold of Patterson again, with the accused responding via text that she was 'a bit snowed under trying to manage' the fact her children were in hospital after eating leftovers of the lunch. She spoke to Patterson on 2 August, Atkinson said, when child support worker Katrina Cripps visited her at home. Atkinson texted her earlier that day with seven specific questions about the lunch, including what had been served to drink, what type of shallots were used in the dish, and what type of packaging the dried mushrooms were sold in. Later that afternoon, Atkinson sent photos of different sizes of ziplock bags to Patterson, marked with a white sticker and with a pen used to indicate their size, in a bid to help her identify the size of bag the dried mushrooms had been sold in. She also asked Patterson whether the mushrooms had been whole or sliced. (July 29, 2023) Erin Patterson hosts lunch for estranged husband Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt and uncle Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Patterson serves beef wellington. (July 30, 2023) All four lunch guests are admitted to hospital with gastro-like symptoms. (August 4, 2023) Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson die in hospital. (August 5, 2023) Don Patterson dies in hospital. Victoria police search Erin Patterson's home and interview her. (September 23, 2023) Ian Wilkinson is discharged from hospital after weeks in intensive care. (November 2, 2023) Police again search Erin Patterson's home, and she is arrested and interviewed. She is charged with three counts of murder relating to the deaths of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. (April 28, 2025) Jury is sworn in. (April 29, 2025) Murder trial begins. Jury hears that charges of attempting to murder her estranged husband Simon are dropped. In its opening to the case, the prosecution said Patterson lied about getting death cap mushrooms from an Asian grocer, evidence which it said it intended to use to demonstrate incriminating conduct. Colin Mandy SC, for Patterson, said the prosecution relied on evidence of this kind to demonstrate that Patterson behaved in a way after the lunch 'that might make her look guilty'. 'The prosecution says she behaved in that way because she knew she was guilty of murder and the defence case is that she panicked because she was overwhelmed by the fact that these four people had become so ill because of the food that she'd served to them,' Mandy said. 'Three people died because of the food that Erin Patterson served that day. So you'll need to think about this issue: how Erin Patterson felt about that in the days that follow. That is an issue in this trial. You will need to consider how she behaved and what she did in that important context. 'How did she feel in those days after the lunch, about serving up a meal that had such tragic consequences? And how might that have impacted on the way she behaved?' Related: A life saved and what Erin Patterson allegedly confided to friends: week four of the mushroom lunch trial He went on to reference the intense scrutiny on Patterson immediately after the lunch. Mandy did not directly address whether Patterson had lied about the mushrooms, as she had been accused by the prosecution, but did say she lied to police about having never foraged for mushrooms, though clarified she had never sought out death cap mushrooms. 'It is not an issue that very early on there was intense public health scrutiny, police scrutiny, media scrutiny,' Mandy said in his opening address. 'So when you're considering that evidence, the evidence of her behaviour after the lunch, you'll need to think about these questions. Might someone panic in a situation like that? Is it possible that people might do and say things that are not well thought out and might, in the end, make them look bad? 'Is it possible that a person might lie when they find out that people are seriously ill because of the food that they've served up?' Atkinson will resume giving evidence on Tuesday. The trial continues.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- ABC News
Erin Patterson murder trial live: Digital forensics expert returns to the stand in mushroom case
The triple murder trial of Erin Patterson continues from the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell. She's charged with murdering three relatives by serving them a beef Wellington meal that contained poisonous death cap mushrooms. Follow the trial in our live blog.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates: How accused allegedly branded her husband a 'deadbeat' and his parents a 'lost cause'
Patterson's group messages about her estranged husband and his family read aloud to jury: 'I swear to God' Patterson vented about her in-laws to online friends in the months leading up to the fateful lunch that claimed their lives. On Thursday, Victoria Police Cybercrime Squad senior digital forensics officer Shamen Fox-Henry was taken through a series of Facebook messages allegedly sent by Patterson seven months before the deadly lunch. In the messages, Patterson described her in-laws as a 'lost cause' and exclaimed 'f**k them'. Patterson showed no emotion at the back of courtroom four of the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Victoria's east, where her Supreme Court hearing is being held. Mr Fox-Henry (pictured below) was able to recover the Facebook messages from a Samsung phone seized by police upon her arrest the following month August 2023. Some of the messages read: 'Simon's dad contacted me this morning to say that he and Gail had tried to talk to Simon about the matters I raised and to get 'his side' but he refused to talk about it other than to signal he disagreed with what I said,' she told her online chums. 'Beyond that he wont talk about it. So Don said they cant adjudicate if they don't know both sides and Simon wont give his side. So he said all he can ask is that Simon and I get together to pray for the children. 'This family I swear to f**king God.' 23:59 Patterson trial overview so far Erin Patterson, 50, is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, after allegedly serving them a beef Wellington lunch with death cap mushrooms. Patterson is also accused of attempting to murder Heather's husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson (pictured below), who survived the lunch after spending several weeks in an intensive care unit. The court heard Patterson's estranged husband, Simon, was also invited, but didn't attend. Witnesses told the jury Patterson ate her serving from a smaller and differently coloured plate than those of her guests, who ate from four grey plates. Patterson told authorities she bought dried mushrooms from an unnamed Asian store in the Monash area of Melbourne, but health inspectors could find no evidence of this. The health department declared the death cap poisoning was 'isolated' to Patterson's deadly lunch. Multiple witnesses, including Simon Patterson, Ian Wilkinson and other family members, have given emotion-charged evidence to the jury. Medical staff have told the jury of the painful symptoms the dying lunch guests and Ian Wilkinson suffered. An expert witness told the court death cap mushrooms were detected in debris taken from a dehydrater Patterson had dumped at a local tip. Telecommunications expert Dr Matthew Sorell also told the jury Patterson's phone was detected near areas in Outtrim and Loch where death cap mushrooms had been spotted. CCTV of a short toilet pitstop at a Gippsland BP service station following the day of the lunch was also shown to the court. Victoria Police Cybercrime Squad senior digital forensics officer Shamen Fox-Henry said he found evidence of a death cap mushroom on data from a computer seized from Patterson's Leongatha home on August 5, 2023. Blunt Facebook messages found on a Samsung phone were on Thursday read aloud to the jury.
