Woman who cooked poisonous mushroom lunch says she's been 'painted as an evil witch'
The woman who cooked the deadly mushroom lunch that poisoned four people has rejected claims that she is an 'evil witch'.
Erin Patterson, 48, hosted the lunch at her home in the southeast of Victoria, Australia on 29 July.
The beef wellington meal, which contained poisonous mushrooms, mysteriously led to the death of three of her family members.
Her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, and sister-in-law, Heather Wilkinson, 66, passed away as a result.
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Her husband, Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68, remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition.
Patterson has spoke out of her innocence and slammed her portrayal in the media.
Speaking to The Australian, she said: "I lost my parents-in-law, my children lost their grandparents.
"And I've been painted as an evil witch. And the media is making it impossible for me to live in this town.
"I can't have friends over. The media is at the house where my children are at. The media are at my sister's house so I can't go there. This is unfair."
Her protestations come after a tradesman shared a snap he took of her alleged 'death wall'.
The tradesman, who has remained anonymous, claims he was asked to remove graffiti from a wall in the family home.
This home was eventually sold for $545,000 as the couple moved on.
According to the Daily Mail, the graffiti on the wall included 'bizarre scribbles' with themes of death and destruction drawn in black and red ink
The tradesman said: "It was disturbing. We called it the death wall.
"They were done by their [the Pattersons'] daughter. It is pretty disturbing for mum to let the kids draw on their dining room wall."
The drawings reportedly featured tombstones surrounded by daggers and decapitated heads, alongside sinister quotes such as 'You are dead by the sword'.
On another drawing, the date 'August 1, 2021' had been written, alongside 'You will dead within a year'.
Apparently, one of the tombstones said 'Grandma R.I.P'.
Patterson has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing towards her husband, with whom she was reportedly going through an 'amicable split' with.
Speaking outside her home, she said: "The loss to the community and to the families and my own children who have lost their grandmother… I just can't fathom what has happened.
"I'm so sorry that they have lost their lives. I just can't believe it. I didn't do anything, I love them and I'm devastated they are gone."
The investigation remains ongoing.
Topics: Australia, Crime, World News, Erin Patterson
Ben Thompson