Key evidence in court as woman accused of killing ex-husband's family with 'death mushrooms' in meal
The trial of a woman accused of serving up a deadly dinner which killed three members of her ex-husband's family and left another critically ill is underway in Australia.
Erin Patterson, 50, is alleged to have 'deliberately poisoned' her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, as well as Mrs Patterson's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68.
She served up plates of beef wellington, mashed potato and green beans at her home in the rural town of Leongatha, Australia, on July 29, 2023.
The mum claims she also incorporated pre-sliced mushrooms from Woolworths and dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer into the meal.
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The court heard she thought the mushrooms would 'add a nice flavour to the beef wellington', however, they were death cap mushrooms, which can prove fatal even if consumed in small amounts.
All four of Patterson's dinner guests became unwell after the meal, with Gail, Heather and Don each later passing away in hospital.
Miraculously, Ian survived after undergoing a liver transplant, and Patterson is now facing trial for three counts of murder and a charge of attempted murder.
She has pleaded not guilty and vehemently denies the allegations, insisting that the poisoning was a 'terrible accident'.
However, prosecutors claim that Patterson had 'murderous intent' and served up the deadly dinner after inviting Gail, Don, Heather and Ian to her home 'on the pretence she'd been diagnosed with cancer'.
Patterson's ex-husband Simon Patterson, who she had 'amicably' split from several years earlier, was also invited to the get together, but declined the invitation.
The Victoria state Supreme Court has seen an array of evidence since the trial - which is expected to span for up to six weeks - began on 29 April at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell.
A jury must now decide whether Patterson purposely served up the death cap mushrooms to her dinner guests and, if so, what her intentions were.
Patterson 'ate from a different plate'
According to the prosecution, Patterson consumed her food from a different coloured dinner plate - a small, tan orange one - while her guests were served their meals on large grey dinner plates,
The sole survivor, Ian, told the court that his wife Heather had repeatedly pointed out that Patterson was eating from a different plate during the get together, ABC News reported.
He also claimed that the alleged poisoner was 'very reluctant' about them looking in her pantry, while she also 'rejected' offers from Heather and Gail to help plate up the food.
Patterson's former husband, Simon, also told jurors that when he visited his aunt and uncle's home to check on them the day after the dinner, Heather made a similar comment to him.
"We didn't have much conversation, but she was puzzled and she said 'I noticed Erin served herself her food on a coloured plate which was different to the rest'," Simon recalled, according to the BBC.
"I acknowledged I'd heard her, but did not progress it as a conversation," Simon went on. "She mentioned the coloured plate again, She asked me 'Is Erin short of crockery? Is that why she would have this different coloured plate that she served herself with?' I can't remember the exact phrase, but it was something like that.
"I said, 'Yes, Erin doesn't have that many plates and that may be the reason'."
Patterson 'discharged herself' from hospital
Two days after the dinner, on 31 July, 2023, Patterson's guests were each being treated in hospital - with Don and Gail in intensive care - for suspected death cap mushroom poisoning.
Patterson herself arrived at the Leongatha hospital at 8.05am that morning, according to Dr Christopher Webster, who told the court about a conversation he had with the murder suspect.
The medic explained that he informed Patterson of his concerns about the mushrooms being of the deadly variety, before asking her where she had gotten them from.
Dr Webster claimed she simply replied 'Woolworths' and he then told her that she would need to start undergoing treatment herself, The Guardian reports.
However, Patterson is said to have discharged herself against medical advice a short time later, saying she had not been prepared to be admitted into hospital.
"I had suggested to her that she had been exposed to potentially deadly death cap mushroom poisoning, and being in hospital would be a better place for her to be," Dr Webster told the court.
He then got in touch with two of his superiors to get clearance to alert police to make Patterson return to hospital, while also calling her directly three times.
The mum then returned to the Leongatha hospital, informing Dr Webster where police could find leftovers of the meal but expressing reluctance to get her kids to hospital too - despite them eating the leftovers.
The jury heard that Patterson told hospital staff she had scraped the mushrooms off for her children as they were 'fussy' eaters and 'did not like them'.
Patterson's phone data
Patterson's phone data has proved a pivotal piece of evidence in the trial, as prosecutors allege that records suggest she visited two locations where death cap mushrooms had been sighted.
Two posts were made on the iNaturalist website about the mushrooms being spotted in both towns, which included images and specific coordinates.
Digital forensics expert Dr Matthew Sorrell told the court he sifted through more than four years of Patterson's phone records.
He explained that the phone records provided to him by police showed that she had possibly visited and stayed in Outtrim between 11.24am and 11.49am on 22 May, 2023.
Dr Sorrell also said his analysis suggested there was a 'potential' for Patterson's phone to have been stationary in the area of Loch for around 45 minutes on the morning of 28 April, 2023.
Sightings of death cap mushrooms were reported in both of these areas and shared on iNaturalist by concerned locals who warned people not to mistake them for edible fungi.
However, Dr Sorrell admitted that there is no way to confirm a phone was in a specific location without 'corroborating evidence' as the device could connect to different cell towers rather than the nearest ones.
"While there is a potential visit, it doesn’t definitely point to being in the Loch township," he said, discussing her first alleged stop off.
The same morning, records 'support the opinion the phone could be in the northern section of Outtrim', Dr Sorrell said.
After analysing data from three target base stations for the Loch area, the digital forensics expert said he identified 57 'events' involving Patterson's phone between March 9, 2022, and prior to May 2023.
Death cap mushrooms found in 'seeping' paper bag
The court previously heard that Patterson had informed Dr Chris Webster of where cops could find leftovers of the deadly meal at her home.
She is alleged to have informed the doctor that the remnants of the beef wellington could be found in either her indoor or outdoor bin.
Police then found the leftovers at the bottom of a red-lidded outdoor bin in a 'seeping' brown paper Woolworths bag, with an officer explaining: "It was primarily maybe one-and-a-bit beef wellingtons.
"I used another one of the bags that were in the bin...because it was seeping a bit from the bottom and I didn’t want to get dirty."
This bag was taken to the hospital and given to a nurse at around 10.19am, before Leongatha Hospital’s Dr Veronica Foote took over.
"So I, with gloves on, I took the samples out of the bag, put them on a clean A4 sheet of copy paper and took the photos," she said, adding that there was 'finely chopped and cooked mushrooms' inside the bag.
Victoria's chief toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos told the court that toxins found in death cap mushrooms were detected in samples of the mushroom paste and beef.
These were also found to be present in samples taken from the late Don as well as Ian, who survived, although they were not discovered in samples taken from Gail and Heather.
The court was also shown stills from CCTV footage which allegedly shows Patterson dumping a food dehydrator - which contained traces of death cap mushrooms - at a local tip the day after she was discharged from hospital.
Prosecutors allege this was an attempt to 'conceal what she had done', while her lawyers argue she got rid of it as she 'panicked'.
The trial continues.
Topics: Australia, World News, Crime, Food And Drink
Olivia Burke