Australian mushroom murderer allegedly served poisoned pasta to her husband
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A jury found Erin Patterson lured her in-laws to lunch at her home and poisoned them with servings of Beef Wellington that contained death cap mushrooms.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
SYDNEY – An Australian woman who murdered three of her in-laws with a meal of toxic mushrooms also allegedly tried to murder her husband using poisoned pasta, chicken curry and a sandwich wrap, evidence showed on Aug 8 after a judge allowed its disclosure.
A jury in July found Erin Patterson lured her father-in-law Donald Patterson, mother-in-law Gail Patterson and the latter’s sister Heather Wilkinson to lunch at her home and poisoned them with servings of Beef Wellington that contained death cap mushrooms.
They also found the 50-year-old guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Ian Wilkinson
Erin Patterson was initially charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in 2023, with the four additional counts relating to her estranged husband, Mr Simon Patterson.
Justice Christopher Beale previously ruled the charges should be split into two separate trials, before the prosecution dropped the attempted murder charges relating to Mr Simon Patterson on the eve of the first trial.
That meant details of the alleged attempts on his life in 2021 and 2022 were never heard by the jury.
“After the first time I got sick, I had the idea I got sick from Erin’s food,” Mr Simon Patterson told a pre-trial hearing in Melbourne in October 2024.
He began keeping a spreadsheet of his illnesses that the court heard all happened after eating his estranged wife's cooking, including a penne bolognese, a chicken curry and a sandwich wrap.
The alleged poisonings left him close to death, and he became so ill he was temporarily paralysed and had part of his bowel removed.
Evidence from a computer seized from Erin Patterson’s home showing searches for other kinds of poisons was also excluded from the trial.
She maintained her innocence throughout the case that has gripped Australia, with her defence calling the deaths a “terrible accident”. She pleaded not guilty to the counts of attempted murder against her husband.
The court will next hear the case on Aug 25, the first of a two-day plea hearing where victim impact statements will be read. REUTERS
