The mushroom murder trial: Bizarre case of a woman accused of killing her ex-husband’s relatives with beef wellington
A jury is now deliberating whether a woman in Australia is guilty of murdering three people and attempting to kill another by serving them a lunch laced with poisonous mushrooms.
Erin Patterson, 50, gave her estranged husband’s parents and his aunt and uncle beef wellington at her home in July 2023. The next day all four guests were hospitalised with symptoms of death cap mushroom poisoning, and later three of them died.
Patterson was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder over the deaths, and is standing trial in a case that has gripped Australia and drawn international attention.
Here’s what you need to know about the trial.
Patterson is a mother-of-two from the Victorian town of Leongatha, east of Melbourne.
She has been charged with murdering Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and charged with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson.
The defendant had also been charged with three counts of attempted murder relating to her husband Simon Patterson, but those charges were dropped on Tuesday, before the trial opened.
In Australia, murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, while attempted murder has a maximum 25-year sentence.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
On July 29, 2023, Patterson hosted her estranged husband’s parents Don and Gail, as well as Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and Heather’s husband, church pastor Ian Wilkinson.
She had invited them all for lunch at her home two weeks prior. Patterson had also invited her husband, Simon, but he declined. The pair had been separated since 2015.
She served her guests beef wellington, which is a beef fillet wrapped in a mushroom paste and covered with pastry, with a side of mashed potato and green beans.
The day after the lunch, all four guests fell ill and went to hospital complaining of nausea and diarrhoea.
Within days, Don, Gail and Heather had died, while Ian Wilkinson survived after receiving an organ transplant.
