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Reuters
29 minutes ago
- General
- Reuters
Erin Patterson: mushroom murders accused breaks down in Australian court
SYDNEY, June 3 (Reuters) - An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms wept as she was questioned over expletive-laden messages about the victims on Tuesday, in a case that has captivated the country. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the July 2023 murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband. The prosecution alleges she knowingly served the guests Beef Wellington that contained lethal death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha, a town of around 6,000 people some 135 km (84 miles) from Melbourne. Patterson denies the charges, with her defence saying the deaths were a "terrible accident". She faces a life sentence if found guilty. Appearing as a witness for her own defence, Erin Patterson was questioned on Tuesday by her barrister Colin Mandy about a series of expletive-laden messages sent to friends regarding the Patterson family. The court previously heard the relationship between the accused and her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, deteriorated shortly before the alleged murders due to a disagreement over child support. "I wish I'd never said it. I feel ashamed for saying it and I wish that the family didn't have to hear that I said that," she said of the messages, that the court has previously heard in the prosecution's case. "I was really frustrated with Simon but it wasn't Don and Gail's fault," she told the court through tears. Erin Patterson is the first witness for the defence after the prosecution rested its case on Monday, following a month of evidence from witnesses, including relatives and medical, forensic and mushroom experts. The accused began her testimony on Monday afternoon. It is unknown how long she will give evidence for or whether she will be cross-examined by the prosecution. The trial, which began on April 29, has seen intense interest from Australian and international media, with podcasters, journalists and documentary-makers descending on the town of Morwell, around two hours east of Melbourne, where the trial is being held. State broadcaster ABC's daily podcast about proceedings is currently the most popular in the country, with two others also high in the charts. The trial continues.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘They didn't deserve it': Emotional Erin Patterson tells murder trial of shame over messages about family
Erin Patterson has told a court she wishes she never told her Facebook friends in a private group chat 'this family I swear to fucking god' in relation to her in-laws, saying she felt ashamed but hoped that sharing her frustrations would mean she had a 'big cheer squad' for her problems. Patterson also told the jury in her triple murder trial that she was never diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had a history of 'consulting Dr Google', and hoped to bring her family back together despite a formal separation with her estranged husband Simon seven years earlier. In her second day in the witness box, Patterson was also asked about her relationship with Simon changing after a dispute about child support which arose the year before the alleged murders. Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning her four lunch guests – relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson – with a beef wellington served at her house in Leongatha on 29 July 2023. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Simon's uncle and Heather's husband. Lawyers for Patterson say the death cap mushroom poisoning was a tragic and terrible accident. Under questioning from her lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, on Tuesday, Patterson spoke about a time in late 2022 when she was in discussion with Simon and Don and Gail about two issues within the family: finances for their children, and the struggles of their son. Don and Gail were asked by Patterson to mediate between her and Simon, as they had done so before, she said. The court was shown a series of messages about these issues, including Don apologising for possibly misrepresenting Simon, and Patterson saying she appreciates it is uncomfortable. 'Simon seems to be under the misapprehension that a child support assessment covers every expense for the children under the sun,' Patterson wrote in December 2022. Patterson was also asked about a 'heated' exchange she and Simon had after she felt she had not been invited to a pub lunch for Gail's 70th. At the same time she was discussing these issues with Simon and his parents, Patterson was posting to her friends on a group chat. She said she sent the messages because 'I was really hurt and really frustrated and felt a little bit desperate' in the Facebook chat, which 'became a safe venting space for all of us'. Of a message previously read to the court, in which she said 'this family, I swear to fucking god', Patterson told the court: 'I wish I'd never said it, I feel ashamed for saying it, and I wish that the family didn't have to hear that I said that. 'They didn't deserve it.' Members of the Patterson and Wilkinson families, including Ian Wilkinson, were in court on Tuesday. Patterson, who was also asked about a separate message when she wrote she was 'sick of this shit', wanted nothing to do with the Pattersons, and wrote 'fuck em', that she shared her frustrations as 'I knew that the women would probably support me being annoyed about those things, and so I said that to them, knowing that they would latch on, and then it [becomes] a big cheer squad for your problem, if that makes sense'. Patterson also spoke about receiving inheritances from her grandmother and mother, which allowed her to loan about $1.2m to Simon's siblings and their partners, and for her to buy several properties and travel extensively overseas. The court heard Patterson had opened a second-hand bookshop in the Western Australian town of Pemberton before she moved back to Victoria with Simon and their son while she was pregnant with the couple's daughter. The reason for the move, she said, was to be closer to Don and Gail after the birth, and because their son loved spending time with his 'nanna and papa' and cousins. Another series of separations between her and Simon continued, until a 'formal' separation in late 2015. Patterson said that despite this she included his name on the title of the Leongatha property which she moved into in 2022 as she wanted to show him something 'tangible' about her desire for the family to reunite. 'That was what I wanted. I did that because I wanted some way to demonstrate with Simon that's what I really believed and wanted,' she said. Patterson appeared to become emotional when she was asked how her relationship with Don and Gail changed after this 'formal' separation. 'It never changed,' she said. 'I was just their daughter in law, and they just continued to love me.' Patterson also told the court about a history of health issues she and her children had which eroded her faith in the medical system. She never had ovarian cancer, nor a needle biopsy, she said. The court has previously heard about text messages she exchanged with Gail about the biopsy, and it is the prosecution case that Patterson used a cancer diagnosis as a 'false pretence' for the lunch. Patterson said both sides of her family had a history of ovarian cancer, and she feared she also had it. 'I'd been having, for a few months by then, a multitude of symptoms,' Patterson said. 'I felt very fatigued. I had ongoing abdominal pain. I had chronic headaches. I put on a lot of weight, in quite a short period of time, and like my feet and my hands seemed to retain a lot of fluid.' She said what 'sent me over the edge' to go to a GP was that her wedding rings wouldn't fit any more, and that when she then went to pick them up from the jeweller, after having them resized, they again didn't fit. At this time, and at another occasion when she feared she had a brain tumour, she 'consulted Dr Google'. She came to realise, she said, that doing this wasted her time, and the time of medical professionals, but she had come to distrust the medical system because of how it had handled issues with her children. Patterson's evidence continues.
CBS News
12 hours ago
- Health
- CBS News
Woman on trial for killing 3 relatives of ex-husband with poison mushrooms testifies about marital issues
Mother and son lucky to be alive after eating poisonous mushrooms in Amherst Mother and son lucky to be alive after eating poisonous mushrooms in Amherst Mother and son lucky to be alive after eating poisonous mushrooms in Amherst The woman accused of murdering three members of her ex-husband's family by serving them poisonous mushrooms has taken the stand at an Australian court on Monday as the highly publicized triple murder trial nears its conclusion. Erin Patterson, 50, is accused of killing her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, and also of attempting to murder Wilkinson's husband, Ian, 68 after the four consumed a meal at Patterson's home in Victoria state in July 2023. She could face up to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder charge, while murder in the state of Victoria carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Her lawyer, Colin Mandy, previously told the Victorian state Supreme Court during the six-week trial the poisoning was accidental. Patterson's appearance as a defense witness Monday marked the first time the 50-year-old has spoken since pleading not guilty to all charges in May last year. She served meals of beef Wellington, mashed potato and green beans at her home in the rural town of Leongartha on July 29, 2023. All four guests were hospitalized the next day with poisoning from death cap mushrooms, also known as amanita phalloides, that were added to the beef and pastry dish. Ian Wilkinson survived after a liver transplant. Under questioning from Mandy, Patterson revealed personal battles with low self-esteem, shifting spirituality, the complicated birth of her son and growing distance from her estranged husband's family in recent years. "I had felt for some months that my relationship with the wider Patterson family, and particularly Don and Gail, perhaps had a bit more distance or space put between us," Patterson said. "We saw each other less." She described how husband Simon -- the pair were estranged but still legally married -- seemed to be pushing her out of the family in the lead up to the fatal meal. "I'd become concerned that Simon was not wanting me to be involved too much in the family anymore," she said. "I wasn't being invited to so many things." Erin Patterson looks on in Melbourne, Australia, April 15, 2025. James Ross/AP Patterson is due back on the witness stand Tuesday as the trial continues. The prosecution completed the presentation of its evidence to a jury of 14 people earlier on Monday afternoon. "They can be scared and alive or dead" Last month, Ian Wilkinson told the courtroom that he and his wife had been "very happy to be invited" to the lunch, the BBC reported. Wilkinson told the court that Patterson had plated "all of the food," according to the BBC. "Each person had an individual serve, it was very much like a pasty," he said. "It was a pastry case and when we cut into it, there was steak and mushrooms." The court also heard that lunch host Erin Patterson's estranged husband, Simon, had been invited to the meal but declined, saying he was uncomfortable with the prospect. Erin Patterson went to hospital two days after the lunch, but left five minutes later against medical advice, the doctor said. "I was surprised," he told the court. Patterson later returned and told Webster her children had also consumed the beef Wellington — but not the mushrooms or pastry. She was hesitant to tell them about the poisoning in case they became "frightened," the doctor said. "I said: 'They can be scared and alive or dead.'" The court also heard from another of Don and Gail Patterson's sons, Matthew, who said he had called the lunch host to ask where the mushrooms came from Death caps are responsible for 90% of lethal mushroom poisoning globally, the BBC reported. In 2022, doctors in Massachusetts were able to save a mother and son who nearly died from death cap mushroom poisoning. In 2020, a spate of poisonings in Victoria, Australia, killed one person and hospitalized seven others.
South China Morning Post
17 hours ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Australia's Erin Patterson, accused of 3 murders, testifies over mushroom poisoning
The woman accused of murdering three members of her ex-husband's family by serving them poisonous mushrooms has taken the stand at an Australian court on Monday as the highly publicised triple murder trial nears its conclusion. Erin Patterson, 50, is accused of killing her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, and also of attempting to murder Wilkinson's husband, Ian, 68, after the four consumed a meal at Patterson's home in Victoria state in July 2023. She could face 25 years in prison for the attempted murder charge, while murder in the state of Victoria carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Her lawyer, Colin Mandy, previously told the Victorian state Supreme Court during the six-week trial that the poisoning was accidental. Patterson's appearance as a defence witness on Monday marked the first time the 50-year-old has spoken since pleading not guilty to all charges in May last year. She served meals of beef Wellington, mashed potato and green beans at her home in the rural town of Leongartha on July 29, 2023. All four guests were hospitalised the next day with poisoning from death cap mushrooms, also known as amanita phalloides, that were added to the beef and pastry dish.
CTV News
19 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
An Australian woman on trial for triple murder testifies over mushroom poisoning
Erin Patterson, the woman accused of serving her ex-husband's family poisonous mushrooms, is photographed in Melbourne, Australia, on April 15, 2025. (James Ross/AAP Image via AP) NEWCASTLE, Australia — The woman accused of murdering three members of her ex-husband's family by serving them poisonous mushrooms has taken the stand at an Australian court on Monday as the highly publicized triple murder trial nears its conclusion. Erin Patterson, 50, is accused of killing her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, and also of attempting to murder Wilkinson's husband, Ian, 68 after the four consumed a meal at Patterson's home in Victoria state in July 2023. She could face up to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder charge, while murder in the state of Victoria carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Her lawyer, Colin Mandy, previously told the Victorian state Supreme Court during the six-week trial the poisoning was accidental. Patterson's appearance as a defense witness Monday marked the first time the 50-year-old has spoken since pleading not guilty to all charges in May last year. She served meals of beef Wellington, mashed potato and green beans at her home in the rural town of Leongartha on July 29, 2023. All four guests were hospitalized the next day with poisoning from death cap mushrooms, also known as amanita phalloides, that were added to the beef and pastry dish. Ian Wilkinson survived after a liver transplant. Under questioning from Mandy, Patterson revealed personal battles with low self-esteem, shifting spirituality, the complicated birth of her son and growing distance from her estranged husband's family in recent years. 'I had felt for some months that my relationship with the wider Patterson family, and particularly Don and Gail, perhaps had a bit more distance or space put between us,' Patterson said. 'We saw each other less.' Patterson is due back on the witness stand Tuesday as the trial continues. The prosecution completed the presentation of its evidence to a jury of 14 people earlier on Monday afternoon. Keiran Smith, The Associated Press
