An Australian “mushroom poisoner” has pleaded not guilty to murder after three elderly guests died after eating her homemade dinner.
Erin Trudi Patterson has been charged with the three murders after guests fell ill hours after eating a Beef Wellington last July.
The 49-year-old was accused of murdering Gail Patterson and Don Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson.
Patterson also faces an attempted murder charge after Wilkinson’s husband Ian survived damage to his liver after receiving an organ transplant.
Erin Patterson NineIt will be alleged that she knowingly mixed toxic fungi – believed to be the “death cap” variety – into the food.
Mushrooms are a key ingredient in Beef Wellington as it is used to make the duxelles between the dish’s meat and pastry layers.
Patterson was also charged with four counts of attempting to murder her estranged husband Simon Patterson.
He had previously been hospitalised with a stomach illness.
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Heather and Ian Wilkinson died following the lunchFacebookPolice plan to present evidence about how the 49-year-old tried to kill her separated husband once in 2021 in the couple’s hometown, south-east of Melbourne, and twice in 2022.
Patterson was asked to tell the Latrobe Magistrate’s Court how she intended to plead to the charges.
Speaking from a women’s prison on Tuesday morning, Patterson said: “Not guilty, your honour.”
The mother-of-two has previously vowed her innocence, telling the media she was “devastated” by the loss of her children’s grandparents.
Patterson’s lawyer Colin Mandy SC is also opting to “fast-track” the case to the Supreme Court in Melbourne.
Police believe that the victims may have eaten death cap mushrooms – which are some of the most poisonous in the worldWikimedia CommonsThe method, which was introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, enables homicide suspects to skip a committal hearing.
Patterson’s lawyers previously indicated that they wanted the magistrate to test the police’s case before trial.
However, such a situation would have ensured the 49-year-old spent at least 15 months on remand.
Patterson was committed to stand trial in the Victorian Supreme Court and will appear for a directions hearing later in May.
She has not applied to be released on bail during any of her four court appearances.
