Death cap dinner: Australian woman accused of mushroom murders says she fell ill too

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - 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, in a case that has gripped Australia. — Supreme Court of Victoria handout pic via AFP

SYDNEY, June 19 — An Australian woman accused of killing three lunch guests with toxic mushrooms fell sick from the same meal, her defence said today, rejecting claims she faked her symptoms.

Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering her estranged husband’s parents and aunt in July 2023 by spiking their beef Wellington lunch with death cap mushrooms.

She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest — her husband’s uncle — who survived the lunch after a long stay in hospital.

Patterson has steadfastly maintained her innocence during a seven-week-long trial that has made headlines from New York to New Delhi.

As the trial came to its closing stages, defence lawyer Colin Mandy poked holes in the prosecutor’s case, saying his client, too, fell ill after consuming the beef-and-pastry dish.

Patterson’s medical tests at the hospital revealed symptoms “that can’t be faked”, including low potassium and elevated haemoglobin, he said.

“She was not as sick as the other lunch guests, nor did she represent she was,” Mandy said.

The prosecution maintains Patterson did not consume the fatal fungi and faked her symptoms.

‘She panicked’

Mandy said his client lied in panic in the days after the lunch, trying to “conceal the fact that foraged mushrooms went into the meal”.

“If that was found out, she feared she would be held responsible,” her defence said.

“She panicked when confronted with the terrible possibility, the terrible realisation, that her actions had caused the illness of people she liked.”

Mandy said he was not “making an excuse” for Patterson’s behaviour after the lunch, but that it did not mean she meant to harm or kill her guests.

Patterson originally invited her estranged husband Simon to join the family lunch at her secluded home in the farming village of Leongatha in Victoria state.

But he turned down the invitation on the eve of the meal, saying he felt uncomfortable going, the court heard earlier.

The pair were long estranged but still legally married.

Simon Patterson’s parents Don and Gail, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, attended the lunch.

All three were dead within days. Heather Wilkinson’s husband Ian fell gravely ill but eventually recovered.

The trial in Morwell, south-east of Melbourne, is in its final stages. — AFP