Online Reporter
The Australian host of a weekend family lunch has gone on trial, charged with murdering her estranged husband’s parents and an aunt and attempting to murder an uncle with poisonous mushrooms.
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers opened the case against Erin Patterson (50) in the Victoria state Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Her guests included her parents-in-law, Gail and Don Patterson, Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband, Ian Wilkinson.
All four guests were admitted to hospital the next day with poisoning from death cap mushrooms that were added to the beef and pastry dish.
Mr Wilkinson survived after a liver transplant.
Erin Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited to the lunch and initially accepted the invitation but later declined.
“She said the purpose of the lunch was to discuss some medical issues that she had and to get advice about how to break it to the kids.
“The accused said it was important that the children were not present for the lunch,” Ms Rogers said.
Said Heather Wilkinson when she was taken to hospital the next morning: “I noticed that Erin put her food on a different plate. Her plate had colours on it. I wondered why that was.”
“After the lunch, the accused announced that she had cancer. They discussed it and agreed it was best to be honest with the children. They also prayed for the accused person’s health,” Ms Rogers said.
Defence lawyer Colin Mandy told the jury that the poisoning was accidental.
Erin told authorities that she had cooked with a mixture of fresh mushrooms bought from a supermarket and dried mushrooms bought from an Asian food store.
Ms Rogers said Erin Patterson had not eaten the poisonous mushrooms and had not fed her children the leftovers.
The trial is expected to continue for six weeks. – AP
