A woman in Australia accused of serving a meal intentionally made with poisonous mushrooms pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
Erin Patterson appeared at Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court via video link from a prison in Melbourne, in the southeastern state of Victoria, where she has been held since her November arrest in connection with a fatal meal at her home four months earlier. Three of her guests who ate the beef wellington she’d made died, while a fourth became seriously ill but survived.
The 49-year-old mom denied murdering her former parents-in-law, Gail and Dom Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail Patterson’s sister, 66-year-old Heather Wilkinson. One of the five counts of attempted murder relates to the meal’s survivor—Wilkinson’s husband Ian—while the other four concern Erin Patterson’s alleged attempts to kill her ex-husband, Simon Patterson, with whom she has two children.
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Erin allegedly attempted to murder Simon at the fateful lunch, but he did not accept an invitation to attend. She’s also accused of having attempted to kill him on three earlier occasions dating back to 2021.
Police previously said the four family members who died after the July lunch displayed symptoms consistent with the consumption of death cap mushrooms.
If convicted, Erin Patterson could face a sentence of up to 25 years for each attempted murder charge. The murder counts are punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison.
