Latest news with #mushroompoisoning
CTV News
14 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
Woman who denies mushroom murders of her in-laws accepts that she served them death caps for lunch
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) WELLINGTON, New Zealand — An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's relatives with poisonous mushrooms told a court on Tuesday she accepted that the fatal lunch she served contained death caps. But Erin Patterson said the 'vast majority' of the fungi came from local stores. She denies three counts of murder and one of attempted murder over the beef Wellington meal she served to her parents-in-law and her estranged husband's aunt and uncle at her home in July 2023. Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson were hospitalized and died after the lunch in the rural town of Leongatha in the Australian state of Victoria. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, was gravely ill but survived. Patterson's lawyer earlier told the Supreme Court trial that the poisoning was a tragic accident but prosecutors said it was deliberate. If convicted, she faces a sentence of life imprisonment on the murder charges and 25 years in jail for attempted murder. Long queues formed outside the Latrobe Valley Courthouse on Tuesday after Patterson took the stand late Monday, which was the first time she had spoken publicly since the deaths. Accused foraged mushrooms for years During several hours of evidence on Tuesday, Patterson, 50, told the court she began foraging fungi during the COVID-19 lockdown of March 2020, witnessed only by her children. 'I cut a bit of one of the mushrooms, fried it up with some butter and ate it,' she said. 'They tasted good and I didn't get sick.' Patterson said she also fed foraged mushrooms to her children, chopped up 'very, very small' so they couldn't pick them out of curries, pasta and soups. She developed a taste for exotic varieties, joined a 'mushroom lovers' Facebook group, and bought a dehydrator to preserve her finds, Patterson said. Her lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, asked if she accepted that the beef Wellington pastries she had served to her lunch guests in 2023 contained death caps. 'Yes, I do,' said Patterson. The accused told her lawyer most of the mushrooms she used that day came from local supermarkets. She agreed she might have put them in the same container as dehydrated wild mushrooms she had foraged weeks earlier and others from an Asian food store. Mandy in April told the court his client had lied when she initially told investigators that she had never foraged before. But he denied that she had deliberately sought out death cap mushrooms and said she disposed of her dehydrator in a panic about the accidental deaths. Regrets over 'venting' messages about in-laws Earlier Tuesday, Patterson became tearful when she was asked about expletive-filled messages she had sent about her in-laws in December 2022 in a Facebook group chat that she described as a 'safe venting space' for a group of women. 'I wish I'd never said it. I feel very ashamed for saying it and I wish that the family didn't have to hear that I said it,' said Patterson. 'They didn't deserve it.' Patterson, who said she had tried to have her parents-in-law mediate a dispute with her estranged husband, Simon, about school fees, said she was feeling hurt, frustrated and 'a little bit desperate.' The couple formally separated in 2015 after earlier temporary splits, the court has heard. Simon Patterson was invited to the July 2023 lunch but did not attend. Accused said she was still close with husband's family Tuesday's evidence also traversed Patterson's health after prosecutors' suggestions that her lunch invitation was unusual and that she'd organized it on a false pretense of receiving a cancer diagnosis. The mother of two admitted she never had cancer, but had been worried enough by symptoms to seek tests. Despite her separation from Simon, Patterson said she had hoped to reunite with her estranged husband and said she had remained close to her in-laws. 'It never changed. I was just their daughter in law,' said Patterson, through tears. 'They just continued to love me.' Evidence follows lengthy prosecution case The 14-member jury has heard five weeks of prosecution evidence, including what the lunch guests told relatives before they died. Heather Wilkinson said shortly before she died that Patterson ate her individual beef wellington pastry from a different colored plate to the other diners, said prosecutor Nanette Rogers. Opening her case in April, Rogers said the poisoning was deliberate but that her case would not suggest a motive for the alleged killings. The prosecution says Patterson lied when she told investigators she had eaten the same meal as her guests and fed her children the leftovers. Patterson is due to continue giving evidence on Wednesday. Her evidence Tuesday did not include her account of the day of the lunch, or cross-examination from prosecutors. Charlotte Graham-mclay, The Associated Press
News.com.au
a day ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Erin Patterson trial: Alleged mushroom poisoner set to continue giving evidence
Alleged mushroom poisoner Erin Patterson detailed concerns she was being pushed out of her husband's family in the months before the fatal lunch, the jury has been told. Erin Patterson, 50, took the stand at her triple-murder trial on Monday after Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC closed the prosecution case. Ms Patterson said she felt her relationship with her estranged husband's family had grown distant in the first few months of 2023, but said her relationship with Simon was 'functional'. 'I had felt for some months that my relationship with the wider Patterson family, and particularly Don and Gail, had perhaps had a bit more distance or space put between us,' she said. 'We saw each other less ... I'd begun to have concerns that Simon was not wanting me to be involved too much with the family any more. Perhaps I wasn't being invited to so many things.' Ms Patterson is accused of deliberately poisoning a beef wellington lunch she hosted for her estranged husband's parents and aunt and uncle on July 29, 2023. She was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, after Don Patterson, his wife Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson died from organ failure in the week after the meal. Heather's husband, Korumburra Baptist Church long-serving pastor Ian Wilkinson, fell critically ill but recovered. Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty, with her defence arguing that while the lunch did contain poisonous mushrooms, she did not intentionally poison anyone and the case is actually a tragic accident. Taking the stand shortly about 3.30pm on Monday, Ms Patterson began to answer questions about her relationship, struggles with her weight, religious beliefs, motherhood and the lead up to the fatal lunch. Her voice started off soft, growing in volume and confidence as the minutes ticked over but faltered once when talking about the 'very traumatic' birth of her son in January 2009. Frequently, she would pause for a second or two, her eyes closed, before answering a question. Ms Patterson told the jury she first met her husband Simon Patterson when the pair were working at the Monash City Council in Melbourne in 2004. She said they first began socialising through friends at the council, but the relationship grew deeper through 'conversations about life, religion and politics' while camping together. Describing herself then as a 'fundamental atheist', she said she sought to convert her Christian boyfriend before attending a service from Ian. 'I had a religious experience there and it quite overwhelmed me,' she said. Ms Patterson said she developed a close relationship with Don and Gail and was walked down the aisle by Simon's cousin, David Wilkinson, in June 2007 because her parents were on a train in Russia. Soon after the couple hit the open road, 'meandering' across the country before settling for a time in Perth. Here she said she fell pregnant and their son was born, before continuing their road trip across the top end. After months on the road, Ms Patterson said she'd 'had a gutful' and flew from Townsville back to Perth and the couple separated for the first time. 'What we struggled with over the entire course of our relationship… we just couldn't communicate well when we disagreed about something,' she said. 'So we would just feel hurt and not know how to resolve it.' Ms Patterson is expected to continue giving evidence when the hearing resumes on Tuesday. The trial continues.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Woman accused of killing in-laws with toxic mushrooms takes stand for first time
Erin Patterson, the Australian woman accused of killing three people and attempting to kill a fourth with a meal laced with death cap mushrooms, has taken the stand in her own defense at a trial that has captured worldwide attention. On Monday, the start of the sixth week of the trial, Patterson told the court about her relationship with her estranged husband Simon, whose parents, Don and Gail Patterson, were among the guests who died after attending lunch at her house in July 2023. Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, also died after eating Beef Wellington at lunch, but her husband, Ian Wilkinson, a pastor at their local church, survived after spending several weeks in hospital with acute poisoning from Amanita phalloides, the world's most toxic mushrooms. Prosecutors allege that Patterson, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, deliberately laced the beef dish with lethal mushrooms, after seeing their location posted on a public website. Her defense lawyers argue the deaths were a 'terrible accident,' and while they acknowledge Patterson, 50, repeatedly lied to police, they say she didn't intend to kill her guests. The mother of two told the court that her relationship with her husband was merely 'functional' in July 2023, and that she had started becoming concerned that he wasn't involving her in family gatherings anymore. Her self-esteem was low, and she was so unhappy with her weight that she was considering gastric bypass surgery, she told the court. 'I'd been fighting a never-ending battle of low self-esteem most of my adult life, and the further inroads I made into being middle aged, the less I felt good about myself,' she said. Patterson's defense attorney Colin Mandy SC asked her about the start of her relationship with Simon Patterson, the father of their two children. Patterson told the court she met Simon in 2004 at work at Monash City Council, in the Australian state of Victoria. They were friends at first, before a romance developed several months later. They married in 2007, at a service attended by Don and Gail Patterson and Ian and Heather Wilkinson. Erin's parents were on holiday when she got married, so Ian Wilkinson's son David walked her down the aisle, she told the court. Patterson said she was 'very atheist' when she met Simon. 'I was trying to convert him to being an atheist, but things happened in reverse, and I became Christian,' she told the court. She said she had a 'spiritual experience' during her first church service in 2005 at Korumburra Baptist Church, where Pastor Ian Wilkinson delivered the sermon. 'I had what I would call a religious experience there, and it quite overwhelmed me,' she said Patterson recalled the traumatic delivery of her first child, who was born by emergency cesarian, after an attempt with forceps failed. Her son spent some time in the intensive care unit, and Patterson said she discharged herself against medical advice so she could go home to be with her newborn. Patterson spoke about the support Simon's mother Gail gave her as she cared for her son. 'She gave me good advice … relax and enjoy your baby,' she said. When they were living in Perth, Western Australia, the couple briefly separated for the first time. In 2009, Patterson rented a cottage for herself and their baby, she told the court, while her husband rented a trailer close by. They reunited in January 2010. A second baby came later. During the course of their relationship, Patterson told the court there were periods of separation. 'What we struggled with over the entire course or our relationship… we just couldn't communicate well when we disagreed about something,' she said. 'We could never communicate in a way that made each of us feel heard or understood, so we would just feel hurt and not know how to resolve it.' Patterson will resume giving evidence on Tuesday.
CNN
2 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Erin Patterson, woman accused of killing in-laws with toxic mushrooms, takes stand for first time
Erin Patterson, the Australian woman accused of killing three people and attempting to kill a fourth with a meal laced with death cap mushrooms, has taken the stand in her own defense at a trial that has captured worldwide attention. On Monday, the start of the sixth week of the trial, Patterson told the court about her relationship with her estranged husband Simon, whose parents, Don and Gail Patterson, were among the guests who died after attending lunch at her house in July 2023. Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, also died after eating Beef Wellington at lunch, but her husband, Ian Wilkinson, a pastor at their local church, survived after spending several weeks in hospital with acute poisoning from Amanita phalloides, the world's most toxic mushrooms. Prosecutors allege that Patterson, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, deliberately laced the beef dish with lethal mushrooms, after seeing their location posted on a public website. Her defense lawyers argue the deaths were a 'terrible accident,' and while they acknowledge Patterson, 50, repeatedly lied to police, they say she didn't intend to kill her guests. The mother of two told the court that her relationship with her husband was merely 'functional' in July 2023, and that she had started becoming concerned that he wasn't involving her in family gatherings anymore. Her self-esteem was low, and she was so unhappy with her weight that she was considering gastric bypass surgery, she told the court. 'I'd been fighting a never-ending battle of low self-esteem most of my adult life, and the further inroads I made into being middle aged, the less I felt good about myself,' she said. Patterson's defense attorney Colin Mandy SC asked her about the start of her relationship with Simon Patterson, the father of their two children. Patterson told the court she met Simon in 2004 at work at Monash City Council, in the Australian state of Victoria. They were friends at first, before a romance developed several months later. They married in 2007, at a service attended by Don and Gail Patterson and Ian and Heather Wilkinson. Erin's parents were on holiday when she got married, so Ian Wilkinson's son David walked her down the aisle, she told the court. Patterson said she was 'very atheist' when she met Simon. 'I was trying to convert him to being an atheist, but things happened in reverse, and I became Christian,' she told the court. She said she had a 'spiritual experience' during her first church service in 2005 at Korumburra Baptist Church, where Pastor Ian Wilkinson delivered the sermon. 'I had what I would call a religious experience there, and it quite overwhelmed me,' she said Patterson recalled the traumatic delivery of her first child, who was born by emergency cesarian, after an attempt with forceps failed. Her son spent some time in the intensive care unit, and Patterson said she discharged herself against medical advice so she could go home to be with her newborn. Patterson spoke about the support Simon's mother Gail gave her as she cared for her son. 'She gave me good advice … relax and enjoy your baby,' she said. When they were living in Perth, Western Australia, the couple briefly separated for the first time. In 2009, Patterson rented a cottage for herself and their baby, she told the court, while her husband rented a trailer close by. They reunited in January 2010. A second baby came later. During the course of their relationship, Patterson told the court there were periods of separation. 'What we struggled with over the entire course or our relationship… we just couldn't communicate well when we disagreed about something,' she said. 'We could never communicate in a way that made each of us feel heard or understood, so we would just feel hurt and not know how to resolve it.' Patterson will resume giving evidence on Tuesday.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Erin Patterson trial: Alleged mushroom poisoner called to give evidence by her defence
The woman at the centre of a deadly mushroom lunch in the small Victorian dairy town of Leongatha has taken the stand at her triple-murder trial. Erin Patterson, 50, is facing trial accused of deliberately poisoning a beef Wellington lunch she hosted for her estranged husband's parents and aunt and uncle on July 29, 2023. The mother of two was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, after Don Patterson, his wife Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson died from organ failure in the week after the meal. Heather's husband, Korumburra Baptist Church long-serving pastor Ian Wilkinson, fell critically ill but recovered. Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty, with her defence arguing that while the lunch did contain poisonous mushrooms, she did not intentionally poison anyone and the case is actually a tragic accident. On Monday afternoon, after Crown prosecutor Nannette Rogers SC closed the prosecution case with a series of agreed facts, trial judge Justice Christopher Beale turned to Ms Patterson's defence. Barrister Colin Mandy SC rose to his feet and informed the court; 'the defence will call Erin Patterson'. After a short break, jurors returned to the packed Latrobe Valley courtroom, in the town of Morwell, as Ms Patterson began to answer questions about her relationship, struggles with her weight, religious beliefs, motherhood and the lead up to the fatal lunch. Over the following 45 minutes, before the case was adjourned for the day, Ms Patterson kept her eyes fixed on her lawyer as she answered dozens of personal questions. Her voice started off soft, growing in volume and confidence as the minutes ticked over but faulted once when talking about the 'very traumatic' birth of her son in January 2009. Frequently, she would pause for a second or two, her eyes closed, before answering a question. Ms Patterson told the jury she first met her husband Simon Patterson when the pair were working at the Monash City Council in Melbourne in 2004. She said they first began socialising through friends at the council, but the relationship grew deeper through 'conversations about life, religion and politics' while camping together. Describing herself then as a 'fundamental atheist', she said she sought to convert her Christian boyfriend before attending a service from Ian. 'I had a religious experience there and it quite overwhelmed me,' she said. Ms Patterson said she developed a close relationship with Don and Gail and was walked down the aisle by Simon's cousin, David Wilkinson, in June 2007 because her parents were on a train in Russia. Soon after the couple hit the open road, 'meandering' across the country before settling for a time in Perth. Here she said she fell pregnant and their son was born, before continuing their road trip across the top end. After months on the road, Ms Patterson said she'd 'had a gutful' and flew from Townsville back to Perth and the couple separated for the first time. 'What we struggled with over the entire course of our relationship… we just couldn't communicate well when we disagreed about something,' she said. 'So we would just feel hurt and not know how to resolve it.' Ms Patterson is expected to return to the witness box when the hearing resumes on Tuesday. The trial continues.
