Ian Wilkinson fell severely ill following the meal, which resulted in the demise of his wife and two other relatives.
Erin Patterson, who is accused of murdering three family members and attempting to murder another, has entered a plea of not guilty. Her defense team claims she panicked after accidentally serving poison to her loved ones.
Within days of the meal, three individuals succumbed to the poison in the hospital.
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The victims included Patterson’s former in-laws, Don Patterson, 70, and Gail Patterson, 70, as well as Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.
Mr. Wilkinson, a local pastor and Heather’s husband, survived after weeks of treatment.
He informed the packed courtroom that Patterson prepared “all of the food,” which included mashed potato, green beans, and beef wellington.
“Each person received an individual portion, much like a pasty,” he explained. “It was a pastry case with steak and mushrooms enclosed in pastry.”
Mr. Wilkinson also disclosed that Gail and Heather served the food on four grey plates, while Patterson ate from an “orangey tan” colored plate.
When shown a photo of the dining table on an iPad, he indicated where each of the five lunch attendees sat.
He confirmed that both he and Heather consumed the entire meal, while Don finished his meal along with half of the beef wellington that Gail left unfinished.
“There was talk about husbands helping their wives out,” he mentioned.
When questioned about his relationship with Patterson, he stated, “Our relationship was friendly and amicable, but not particularly deep. We were more like acquaintances. We never had arguments or disagreements. She seemed like a normal person to me.”
Heather would have had more interaction with Patterson than he did, but they did not consider the relationship close.
The invitation to Heather Wilkinson was extended at church, a week or two before the event, Mr. Wilkinson recalled.
“We were delighted to be invited. It seemed like our relationship might improve,” he said.
“We were very happy to accept,” Mr. Wilkinson added.
The court was presented with a copy of Mrs. Wilkinson
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77n2yykzrjo
