Erin Patterson: alleged mushroom murderer faked cancer diagnosis to lure victims

30/4/2025 18:01

An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives by poisoning their food, faked a cancer diagnosis to lure the victims to a meal, prosecutors claimed on Wednesday, in a case that has gripped the country.



Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the July 2023 murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband.



All four fell ill after a lunch of Beef Wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans, the court was told. Prosecutors said the accused knowingly laced the meal with deadly death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha, a town of around 6,000 people some 135 kilometres (84 miles) from Melbourne.



Erin Patterson denies the charges.



Defending Patterson, barrister Colin Mandy told the court the deaths were a "terrible accident", and that the accused had no intention of killing her lunch guests.



"The defence case is that Erin Patterson did not deliberately serve poisoned food to her guests," he said.