Particle.news
Download on the App Store
52 ARTICLES
·
2w ago

Erin Patterson Says Foraging Error May Have Introduced Death Cap Mushrooms in Fatal Lunch

Her defence testimony asserts the deadly meal was an accident rather than a deliberate poisoning

Image
A court sketch drawn from a video link shows Erin Patterson, an Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms, appearing as a witness for her own defense, at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell, Australia, June 2, 2025. AAP/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. AUSTRALIA OUT. NEW ZEALAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN NEW ZEALAND. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN AUSTRALIA.
The Latrobe Valley Law Courts sign is pictured in Morwell, Victoria, Australia, May 19, 2025. AAP/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. AUSTRALIA OUT. NEW ZEALAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN NEW ZEALAND. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN AUSTRALIA.
Media stand outside the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell, Australia, April 29, 2025.

Overview

  • Erin Patterson told jurors the beef Wellington she served to her estranged in-laws contained death cap mushrooms and may have unknowingly mixed in wild foraged fungi with store-bought varieties.
  • She admitted she began collecting wild mushrooms during Victoria’s COVID-19 lockdown and bought a food dehydrator to preserve them before disposing of it after the fatal lunch.
  • Patterson acknowledged fabricating a cancer diagnosis to persuade her in-laws to attend the July 2023 meal at her Leongatha home.
  • The 50-year-old denies three counts of murder and one of attempted murder, maintaining that the poisonings were a tragic accident rather than a planned act.
  • The jury has heard five weeks of prosecution evidence and Patterson’s testimony is set to continue for another week as the trial approaches its conclusion.