Australian woman denies weighing 'fatal dose' of toxic mushrooms in murder case
An Australian woman accused of murder denied measuring a “fatal dose” on a kitchen scale to kill three elderly relatives of her estranged husband because she was cross-examined by the indictment on Thursday.
Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the murder of mother-in-law Gail Patterson in July 2023, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, as well as attempted murder by Heather husband Ian Wilkinson.
Prosecutors accused her of deliberately serving guests as part of Wellington Beef Wellington, part of her Beef Wellington in Leongatha, a town about 135 km (84 miles) from Melbourne.
She denied the charges being sentenced to life imprisonment, and her defense called the death a “terrible accident.”
Erin Patterson was asked Thursday if there were a series of photos of mushrooms placed on weighing scales in the kitchen, proving that she had measured “fatal doses” to serve lunch guests.
“I suggest you weigh these death cap mushrooms so that you can calculate the weight required for a person's lethal dose. Agree or disagree?” said Nanette Rogers, a lawyer.
“Don't agree,” Patterson replied.
Patterson was cross-examined after lunch when she was asked if she had ever been foraging mushrooms or owned a food dehydrator and later lied to police and medical professionals when she found lunch in a waste treatment plant.
The defendant had previously admitted that she lied to the lie that she was diagnosed with cancer, but denied Thursday that she did so to attract guests to have lunch at home.
“I suggest you never thought about taking into account the lies of cancer because you think lunch guests will die,” Rogers said.
“That's not true,” Patterson replied.
Patterson was examined by her own barrister Colin Mandy earlier Thursday, saying she did not deliberately choose the Death Cap Mushroom or provide it to lunch guests.
She also did not pretend to be sick after lunch to avoid becoming a suspect in the case, she said.
The trial attracted public attention throughout Australia, as such cases are extremely rare.
Podcasts, journalists and documentary makers from local and international media landed in the town of Morewell, about two hours east of Morburn.
The daily podcast of the state broadcaster ABC on the proceedings is currently Australia’s most popular, while many domestic newspapers already operate live blogs about trial developments.
Judge Christopher Beale, who presided over the case, told the jury that the defendant's cross-examination could continue until next week.
Prosecutors withdrew the case in Monday's case after evidence from relatives, medical, forensics and mushroom experts.
Bill told the jury that after the defense rested, both sides would discuss whether the prosecution might seek to reopen the case based on defense evidence.
The trial will continue to end this month.
