Erin Patterson murder trial

After overindulging in dessert, an Australian woman on trial for murder claims that she threw up the poisonous mushroom meal that killed her relatives. In connection with the beef Wellington lunch that was served at Erin Patterson's regional Victorian home in July 2023, she has pleaded not guilty to four charges, three of which involve murder and one of attempted murder. Prosecutors allege Ms Patterson deliberately served toxic death cap mushrooms, but only to her guests. The contaminated meal, according to her defense team, was a tragic accident that had also made their client sick. Ms Patterson told the court she had only eaten a small part of lunch but later consumed two-thirds of a cake, before becoming "over-full" and vomiting.

What Kind of Mushroom Are Death Caps?

Death cap mushrooms are among the world's most lethal fungi. Even a trace amount can cause liver and kidney failure, with symptoms typically appearing six to twelve hours after consumption. They can closely resemble edible varieties, which makes accidental poisoning a serious risk.Experts warn that their appearance can fool even experienced foragers. Authorities frequently issue warnings during the mushroom-picking season to avoid consuming wild mushrooms unless positively identified by a mycologist.

Doctors have previously told the trial Ms Patterson did not have the same intense symptoms as the other people who'd eaten at her house.

On her third day of wide-ranging testimony, Ms Patterson also admitted she had lied about a cancer diagnosis - which prosecutors say she used to coax the guests to her house - instead of revealing she was actually planning to undergo weight-loss surgery.

She told the court that her estranged husband had accused her of poisoning her relatives, and that in the days following the incident, she had dumped a food dehydrator and wiped her phone out of fear of being blamed for their deaths. In the days following the meal, Ms. Patterson's former in-laws, Don Patterson, 70, and Gail Patterson, 70, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, both passed away in hospitals. A single lunch guest survived, 71-year-old local pastor Ian Wilkinson, after weeks of treatment in hospital.

The Victorian Supreme Court trial - which started almost six weeks ago - has heard from more than 50 witnesses, and attracted huge global attention.

Ms. Patterson gave a detailed account of the fatal lunch in the Morwell courthouse, stating that she had invited her guests on the presumption that she wanted to talk about health issues. Ms. Patterson told the 14-member jury that she tried "quite a long process of trying to decide what to cook" for the lunch before selecting beef Wellington. The dish - usually prepared with a long strip of fillet steak, wrapped in pastry and mushrooms - was something Ms Patterson's mother made when she was a child, to mark special occasions, she said.

After deciding the mushrooms she'd prepared tasted "bland", she said she'd added some dried ones - bought from an Asian grocer in Melbourne months earlier - from a container in her pantry.

Asked if that container may have had other types of mushrooms in it, Ms Patterson, choking up, said: "Now I think there was a possibility that there were foraged ones in there as well."

Yesterday, the court heard that Ms. Patterson started hunting for mushrooms in 2020 near her Leongatha home. Her long-standing love of fungi had grown to include wild varieties because they had "more flavor," she said. Ms Patterson told the jury she had served up the food when it was ready, and instructed her guests to grab a plate themselves as she finished preparing gravy.

There were no assigned seats or plates, she said.

Previously, Mr. Wilkinson told the trial that the guests each received grey plates, while Ms. Patterson ate from an orange plate. On Wednesday, Ms. Patterson stated that she did not have any grey plates. During the lunch, Ms Patterson recalled that she didn't eat much of her food - "a quarter, a third, somewhere around there" - because she was busy talking.

She conceded she had told her guests she had cancer, but in court explained she told this lie to make sure she had help with childcare when she underwent gastric bypass surgery.

"I remember having the thought that I didn't want to tell anyone what I was going to do. I was really embarrassed by it," she said.

After the guests left, she cleaned up the kitchen and ate a slice of orange cake Gail had brought.

Before consuming the remaining portion of the dessert, she stated, "I ate another piece of cake, and then another piece." "I went to the restroom and brought it back up again because I felt sick and it was too full." "After I'd done that, I felt better."

Yesterday, the court heard that Ms Patterson had secretly struggled with bulimia since her teens and was prone to regularly binge eating and vomiting after meals.

Ms. Patterson told the court that she went to the hospital two days later to "get some fluids" after beginning to experience gastro-like symptoms hours after the lunch. She was "shocked but confused" when medical staff asked if she could have eaten death cap mushrooms.

While in hospital for observation overnight, Ms Patterson said her former husband Simon asked her about a dehydrator she owned.

"Is that how you poisoned my parents?" she told the trial he'd said to her - something Mr Patterson denies.

After this encounter, she'd been "frantic", Ms Patterson said, and upon being sent home had disposed of her food dehydrator at the local tip.

"I had made the meal and served it and people had got sick."

"I was scared that they would blame me for it."

The court also heard that Ms Patterson erased the data on one of her phones several times - including while police were searching her house - because she did not want detectives to see her photos of mushrooms and the dehydrator.

On Thursday, Ms. Patterson will continue giving evidence before prosecutors have a chance to cross-examine her.

Legal Challenges Ahead

upcoming legal challenges Despite her claims of innocence, prosecutors are continuing to build a case. Legal experts say that while her own illness might support a lack of intent, it doesn’t rule out negligence.

Melanie Stokes, a criminal lawyer, stated, "There can still be legal accountability if someone serves a meal that results in death — regardless of intent." “However, proving intent is crucial in determining the severity of the charges.”

Despite the fact that Patterson is not facing any charges at this time, the police have not completely ruled out the possibility of bringing charges against him in the future, subject to the receipt of additional forensic and toxicology reports.