Suspected Mushroom Poisoning: Erin Patterson Faces Australian Court On Murder Charges

According to court documents, an Australian lady accused of murdering three people in a suspected mushroom poisoning case is also accused of attempting to murder her ex-partner four times.

On Thursday, Erin Patterson, 49, was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.

The murder charges stem from a family lunch she hosted at her home in Leongatha, Victoria, in July.

Ms Patterson has maintained her innocence.

She made a brief appearance in court on Friday, and her case was deferred until May 3 to allow prosecutors time to investigate computer equipment seized from her home during a police search. She did not seek bail.

A half-dozen television crews were stationed outside the hearing in Morwell, a small town around 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Leongatha.

But there was no sight of Ms Patterson, who had been taken from her overnight police cell inside the court building via a connecting tunnel.

Suspected Mushroom Poisoning: Erin Patterson Faces Australian Court On Murder Charges

According to court documents made available to local media on Friday, Ms Patterson attempted to murder her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, three times between November 2021 and September 2022.

The claimed fourth attempt occurred when she gave his parents, Gail and Don Patterson, aunt Heather Wilkinson, and her husband, Ian Wilkinson, a beef Wellington lunch. Simon Patterson did not show up for the meal.

Erin Patterson has stated that she cooked the dish with a combination of button mushrooms purchased at a supermarket and dried mushrooms acquired months before at an Asian shop.

According to authorities, all four of her guests were later transported to the hospital with violent illnesses.

The Pattersons, both 70, and Ms Wilkinson, 66, died within days of each other. Mr. Wilkinson, 68, was admitted to the hospital in critical condition but later recovered.

Police suspect the four ate death cap mushrooms, which are extremely fatal if consumed.

Ms Patterson was named a suspect after she and her two children emerged from the lunch uninjured.

But she insists she never planned to poison her guests and claims she was brought to the hospital after the supper and given medication to protect her liver.

“I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illnesses suffered by my loved ones,” she said in an August statement.

Police have emphasized the case’s complexities, calling it a tragedy that would “reverberate for years to come.”

“I cannot think of another investigation that has generated this level of media and public interest, not only here in Victoria, but also nationally and internationally,” said Homicide Squad Inspector Dean Thomas on Thursday.

SOURCE – (BBC)