Joe Yates
An Australian woman accused of murdering her estranged husband's parents and auntie with 'poisoned mushrooms' allegedly asked them round for lunch to reveal fake 'cancer diagnosis'.
In 2023, Don and Gail Patterson, both aged 70, died days after consuming a beef wellington made by their former daughter-in-law Erin Patterson that allegedly contained death cap mushrooms, alongside Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson.
They attended lunch at Patterson's home in Leongatha, Victoria on July 30.
Heather and Gale both passed away on August 4, while Don died a day later, with Heather's husband ending up in hospital in a 'critical condition', but he survived.
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Police believed all four had consumed the mushrooms, which are lethal to humans if ingested.
Patterson is facing three murder charges and one account of attempted murder, however, she has denied all allegations made against her.
However, prosecutors have since alleged that the 50-year-old had invited them to her house to inform them of her 'cancer diagnosis'.
Her estranged husband was also invited to attend, but when he expressed how 'uncomfortable' it made him, she allegedly text him back to say it was a 'special meal' that she might not be able to have for 'some time', The Times reports.
Speaking today (April 30), crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers told the court that Patterson had invited her guests around to her house to seek advice for her fake diagnosis - something she claimed she wasn't sure whether or not to tell her two children, who were also in the house at the time, but were unharmed.
Rogers claimed that this allowed the children to not be in the room at the time the allegedly poisoned dish was served.
Prosecutors have also claimed that Patterson served the dishes on a different plate to her own, and despite claiming she fell ill afterwards, she never consumed the mushrooms, with Rogers alleging that she had 'pretended she was suffering the same type of illness as the lunch guests to cover that up'.
It was further claimed by prosecutors that it was because of this that Patterson refused to have her children, who also did not consume any mushrooms, medically assessed.
They continued: "The accused lied about getting death cap mushrooms from an Asian grocer. And the accused disposed of the dehydrator which contained death cap mushroom remnants to conceal what she had done.
"It is also the prosecution case that the accused had not been diagnosed with cancer prior to the lunch, and her claim in this regard was deliberately false."
Rogers added that she believed Patterson had acted with 'murderous' intent.
However, Patterson's defense barrister Colin Mandy has claimed that the trio's deaths were a 'terrible accident'.
“The defence case is that what happened was a tragedy and a terrible accident,” Mandy told the court.
The trial continues.