Anish Vij
A woman from Australia who has been accused of killing her ex-husband’s family with poisonous mushrooms was said to have eaten from a different coloured plate, the court has heard.
Erin Patterson, whose trial has now begun, has been accused of killing three relatives and seriously injuring another by allegedly serving them poisonous mushrooms in 2023.
The 50-year-old invited former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68, to her home in Leongatha, Victoria for lunch on 30 July 2023, where she served beef wellington.
Her estranged husband's parents both died days later as well as Gail's sister, Heather. Heather's husband Mr Wilkinson became ill but survived.
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Patterson is now facing three murder charges and one count of attempted murder. She has denied all of the charges.
The prosecution has said that Mr Wilkinson insisted there were four large grey dinner plates and a smaller one which was tan orange.
It was heard in court that Patterson ate from the smaller, different-coloured dinner plate.
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Prosecutor Nanette Rogers told the jury that Ian and Heather ate all their portions, while Gail ate half and gave the rest to her husband.
During the meal, one guest allegedly asked: "Does Erin have a shortage of crockery?"
The prosecution also said that when Patterson visited hospital, she told staff: "I haven’t come prepared to be admitted to hospital, I was coming to be checked."
"She was adamant she would not stay," they added.
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Meanwhile, Patterson said her children had the meat, potato and green beans - but no mushrooms.
She claims she scraped the mushrooms off because the children did not like them.
The jurors were told that doctors were keen to get the children into hospital as a precaution - but that Patterson insisted it was unnecessary.
Rogers added: “She did not appear to be concerned about the children’s health but rather about stressing them out."
Defence barrister Colin Mandy told the jury that they should take into account how someone might react in such a situation.
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"Might people say or do things that are not well thought out... and might make them look bad," Mandy said.
"The defence case is that she panicked because she was overwhelmed by the fact that these four people had become so ill because of the food she had served them. Three people died.
"Lots of people might have opinions or theories, but they aren’t based on the evidence... none of that should have any bearing on your decision," he added.