Brian McDonald
An Australian woman accused of feeding poisonous mushrooms to several members of her ex-husband’s family pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and five of attempted murder. Authorities allege she served toxic wild mushrooms to four people at a lunch last year, killing three of them and leaving a fourth seriously ill.
Erin Patterson, 49, appeared briefly in Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court via video link from a Melbourne prison, where she has been held since her arrest in November. She is accused of killing her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.
All three died in a hospital days after consuming a meal at Patterson’s home in July.
Patterson has insisted since the incident that he committed no crime.
“I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones,” she said in a statement given to the Australian press at the time. “I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people I loved.”
Image by Anita Lester/AAP via AP
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges and will make her first appearance in the Victorian State Supreme Court in Melbourne on May 23.
The process was expedited after Patterson waived a hearing where a magistrate would have reviewed the prosecution’s case to ensure there was enough evidence to justify a jury trial.
She did not request release on bail during any of her four court appearances.
Erin Patterson is also accused of attempted murder of her ex-husband, Simon, at that lunch and on three previous occasions dating back to 2021. Simon Patterson did not accept the invitation to attend the lunch.
She was also charged with the attempted murder of Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson. Patterson was arrested in November on charges of all eight alleged crimes, including both previous alleged murder attempts, the BBC reported.
Ian Wilkinson spent seven weeks in a hospital after lunch. The BBC reported during his hospitalization that Ian Wilkinson was awaiting a liver transplant.
Police say the symptoms of the four sick family members were consistent with poisoning by wild amanita phalloides, known as death mushrooms. They grow in warm, humid areas across Australia and can be confused with edible mushrooms. But death limits contain toxins that poison the liver and kidneys after being consumed.
Patterson faces up to 25 years in prison for each count of attempted murder, while the murder in Victoria state carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
