Cliff Notes
- Erin Patterson is charged with the murders of her mother-in-law, father-in-law, and sister-in-law, allegedly using poisonous mushrooms in a beef wellington.
- During the trial, Patterson denied measuring a “fatal dose” of death cap mushrooms and claimed the deaths were accidental.
- Under cross-examination, she admitted to lying about her knowledge of mushrooms and the presence of a food dehydrator linked to the toxic fungi.
Erin Patterson: Woman accused of killing three people with poisonous mushrooms denies measuring ‘fatal dose’
A woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband’s relatives with poisonous death cap mushrooms inside a beef wellington has denied she measured a “fatal dose” on her kitchen scales.
Erin Patterson is charged with murdering her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson.
She is also charged with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband.
Her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited to lunch but didn’t attend.
Prosecutors say Patterson knowingly served the guests lethal death cap mushrooms in a beef wellington at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, Australia, on 29 July, 2023.
The 50-year-old denies all the charges, claiming the deaths were a “terrible accident”.
Under cross-examination on Thursday by the prosecution in court, Patterson was asked whether a series of photos of mushrooms placed on weighing scales in her kitchen was evidence she had been measuring a “fatal dose” to serve to her lunch guests.
“I suggest that you were weighing these death cap mushrooms so that you could calculate the weight required for the administration of a fatal dose for one person. Agree or disagree?” barrister Nanette Rogers said.
“Disagree,” Patterson replied.
Patterson accepted she had lied to police and medical professionals after the lunch when she was asked whether she had ever foraged for mushrooms or owned a food dehydrator – which was later found in a waste disposal plant containing traces of death caps.
Giving evidence earlier in the day while being questioned by her own barrister, Colin Mandy, Patterson told the trial in Morwell, Victoria, she did not intentionally pick death cap mushrooms, or knowingly serve them to her lunch guests.
She also denied that she pretended to be sick after the lunch to avoid becoming a suspect in the case.
The trial continues.