A woman accused of murdering her ex-husband's relatives with a poisonous lunch in 2023 has claimed she was just trying to fix a 'bland' dinner.
Erin Patterson is accused of murdering the parents of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, after she invited them over to lunch.
Don and Gail Patterson and Simon's aunt, Heather Wilkinson, all died after Patterson served them a beef wellington that allegedly contained death cap mushrooms at her home in July 2023.
Patterson, from Leongatha, in Victoria, Australia, has also been accused of attempting to murder Simon’s uncle and Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who managed to survive the poisoning.
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She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges she is facing.
Patterson's court case has gripped Australia for the best part of six weeks and yesterday (June 4), the defendant spoke on how she planned the meal as part of her defense.
While no one debates Patterson served deadly mushrooms to her guests, the Australian woman claims she did so unknowingly.
She said in court how she researched ideas to find 'something special' as she wanted to get away from the 'bland' flavour of the meal.
Patterson told the court she thought she was adding dried fungi bought from an Asian supermarket into the meal.
"Now I think that there was a possibility that there were foraged ones in there as well," the court heard, as per AP.
The meal was allegedly had to discuss Patterson's health, with the defendant admitting last week she lied to her in-laws about having cancer.
Patterson added on Wednesday: "I was ashamed of the fact that I didn’t have control over my body or what I ate. I didn’t want to tell anybody, but I shouldn’t have lied to them."
Earlier on in the trial, Dr Christopher Webster took to the stand to detail what happened after he treated Patterson, who arrived at the hospital after Don and Gail Patterson had already been transferred to intensive care.
The heath expert testified that he'd told Patterson he was concerned her in-laws were victims of death cap mushroom poisoning, and questioned where she'd got the mushrooms used in the dish.
In response, Patterson simply said: "Woolworths."
Dr Webster then recalled Patterson's unusual decision after he warned her that she could have 'been exposed to potentially deadly death cap mushroom poisoning'.
The doctor told Patterson that 'being in hospital would be a better place for her to be' and advised that she start undergoing treatment, but in spite of the doctor's recommendation, Patterson chose to discharge herself from hospital.
The trial continues today (June 5), with Patterson facing a life imprisonment if found guilty.
Topics: Erin Patterson, Australia, Crime
Callum Jones