Mushroom murder trial begins for woman accused of killing family members with poisonous fungi lunch
Jurors have been selected and opening statements are due on Wednesday in a case that has captured global attention
The trial of Erin Patterson, who is accused of murdering three of her relatives by serving them a poisonous beef Wellington in 2023, has started in Australia.
Charges regarding the attempted murder of Ms Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, have been dropped by prosecutors, Justice Christopher Beale told the court on Tuesday, even though she still faces charges over the fatal mushroom lunch that killed three and left one critically ill.
A jury of 15 has been selected and the trial is taking place in Morwell, about 150km southeast of Melbourne, near the town of Leongatha, where the lunch was organised. Jurors in the highly anticipated trial are scheduled to receive directions from Justice Beale at 3.00pm on Tuesday afternoon.
On 29 July 2023, Ms Patterson hosted a lunch for her estranged in-laws and another couple at her home in the small, rural town of Leongatha in Victoria, about 85 miles (136km) southeast of Melbourne.
She invited her ex-husband’s parents Don, 70, and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her 68-year-old husband Ian Wilkinson.
Ms Patterson prepared a beef Wellington dish that included mushrooms for the meal which was organised as a reconciliation effort for the sake of the two children she shared with her former husband.
In the following days, all four lunch guests fell ill with food poisoning-like symptoms and were hospitalised. Medical staff later confirmed their symptoms were consistent with death cap mushroom poisoning – a claim that forensic tests later confirmed.
Following the lunch, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died in hospital on 4 August. Don Patterson died the next day, while Ian Wilkinson was critically ill but eventually recovered.
Ms Patterson, 50, was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Ms Patterson has also said that she loved her in-laws and was devastated by their deaths. The prosecution, however, alleges that the meal was deliberately laced with poison, making this a highly contentious and emotionally charged case that has captured global attention.
The detectives investigating the case have earlier described the case as extremely “complex”.
According to 1News, accommodation in Morwell has been completely booked as the trial gets underway, as authorities step up security measures around the courthouse.
The case has drawn widespread attention in Australia and abroad, with the courtroom’s six media seats allocated via a daily ballot. Dozens more are expected to follow the proceedings from an overflow room at the court.
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The trial, expected to last five to six weeks, is being covered by ABC through a daily podcast, while streaming platform Stan is producing a documentary on what it calls “one of the highest profile criminal cases in recent history”.
The prosecution, led by senior counsel Nanette Rogers, is set to deliver its opening address to the jury on Wednesday morning. Ms Patterson’s barrister, Colin Mandy SC, will follow with the defence’s opening statement, ahead of the first witness taking the stand on Thursday.
Ms Patterson had earlier said that she didn’t mean to harm anyone. “I didn’t do anything. I loved them and I’m devastated they are gone.”
She added that she was “so devastated” that her children have lost their grandparents. “They’ve lost their grandmother,” she continued. “I’m so sorry that they have lost their lives.”
In another earlier statement, she said: “I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved.”