Australian murder suspect says lethal lunch may have contained 'foraged' mushrooms / Photo: Martin KEEP - AFP/File
Australian murder suspect says lethal lunch may have contained 'foraged' mushrooms
An Australian woman accused of murdering three people by lacing their lunch with toxic mushrooms told a court on Wednesday she may have unwittingly used "foraged" fungi in the dish.
Erin Patterson is charged with murdering her estranged husband's parents and aunt in 2023 by spiking their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms.
She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest -- her husband's uncle -- who survived after a long stay in hospital.
Patterson maintains the lunch was poisoned by accident, pleading not guilty to all charges in a case that continues to grip Australia.
The 50-year-old choked up with emotion as she gave her account of the meal on Wednesday.
She said she decided to improve the beef-and-pastry dish with dried mushrooms after deciding it tasted a "little bland".
While she initially believed a kitchen container held store-bought mushrooms, she said it may have been mixed with foraged fungi.
"I decided to put in the dried mushrooms I brought from the grocer," she told the court.
"Now I think that there was a possibility that there were foraged ones in there as well."
Patterson earlier told the court how she had started foraging for mushrooms during a Covid lockdown in 2020.
She also told the court on Wednesday that she had misled her guests about the purpose of the family meal.
While they ate, Patterson revealed she might be receiving treatment for cancer in the coming weeks.
But this was a lie, Patterson said.
- 'Shouldn't have lied' -
"I was planning to have gastric bypass surgery, so I remember thinking I didn't want to tell anybody what I was going to have done.
"I was really embarrassed about it.
"So letting them believe I had some serious issue that needed treatment might mean they could help me with the logistics around the kids," she told the court.
"I shouldn't have lied to them," she added.
The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests and took care that she did not consume the deadly mushrooms herself.
Her defence says Patterson ate the same meal as the others but did not fall as sick.
Patterson asked her estranged husband Simon to the family lunch at her secluded rural Victoria home in July 2023.
Simon turned down the invitation because he felt too uncomfortable, the court has heard previously.
The pair were long estranged but still legally married.
Simon's parents Don and Gail were happy to attend, dying days after eating the home-cooked meal.
Simon's aunt Heather Wilkinson also died, while her husband Ian fell seriously ill but later recovered.
The trial is expected to last another week.
A.González--ECdLR
