Erin Patterson has refuted claims that she led health officials on a wild goose chase and gathered death cap mushrooms just before purchasing a food dehydrator, according to a Victorian court.
Patterson, 50, is facing three charges of murder and one of attempted murder for the alleged poisoning of four lunch guests with beef wellington served at her house in Leongatha, Victoria, on July 29, 2023. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering her estranged husband Simon Patterson’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, his aunt Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder his uncle Ian Wilkinson.
Her defense lawyers maintain that the death cap mushroom poisoning was an unfortunate accident. During her testimony, Patterson denied accusations that she intentionally separated eye fillet steaks to make individual beef wellingtons and that she had deceived health officials in her search for an Asian grocer where she bought dried mushrooms, which she maintains was not the reason she bought them.
She also testified that at the time she served leftovers to her children, she had no idea or suspicion that Don and Gail’s illness was due to eating the beef wellington.
The prosecution claims Patterson visited locations where death cap mushrooms grow after such sightings were posted on iNaturalist and picked the mushrooms before purchasing a dehydrator to dry them.
Patterson asserted that she was unaware of the iNaturalist posts or the alleged visits as suggested by her phone data.
The trial has previously revealed that Patterson disposed of the food dehydrator shortly after the lunch; forensic tests found her fingerprints and traces of death cap mushrooms on it. She attributes this to a panic over an impending visit by child protection authorities and accusations by Simon that she had used the dehydrator to poison his parents.
Patterson’s trial at the Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell is ongoing.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/11/erin-patterson-murder-trial-death-cap-mushrooms-food-dehydrator-ntwnfb
