An Australian woman, who murdered three of her in-laws by feeding them a beef wellington laced with deadly mushrooms, also allegedly tried to poison her estranged husband on multiple occasions, a court has heard.
Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of luring her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Don Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, to her home where she fed them lunch that contained death cap mushrooms.
The 50-year-old was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, who survived the meal in July 2023, in Leongatha, a town southeast of Melbourne.
Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, told a pretrial hearing in October 2024 that he had suspicions he had fallen ill after eating food made by his estranged wife between November 2021 and September 2022.
Read more: How Australian death cap mushroom trial unfolded
The evidence was never released publicly due to a gag order put in place by the judge in order to protect Patterson’s rights in case she wanted to appeal her convictions.
Mr Patterson told the hearing he began keeping a spreadsheet of his illnesses that all occurred after eating his estranged wife’s cooking, including a penne bolognese, a chicken curry and a vegetable curry sandwich wrap.
The three alleged poisonings occurred during family camping trips and led Mr Patterson close to death. At one point, he became so ill he was temporarily paralysed and had part of his bowel removed, the court heard at the time.
He said he thought there would be a “risk” Patterson would try to poison him at the fateful lunch attended by his family members, so he declined an invitation.
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From July: Australian mother found guilty in mushroom trial
Mr Patterson added that while he had stopped eating food prepared by his wife, from whom he had been estranged since 2015, he never thought others would be at risk.
Justice Christopher Beale lifted the gag order on Friday, after rejecting an argument by the defence – who said its release combined with intense media interest would jeopardise any potential of an appeal.
Patterson was also initially charged with three counts of attempting to murder Mr Patterson, but prosecutors dropped all charges relating to the husband the night before her trial began in April – meaning they were never heard by the jury.
The poisoned beef wellington made by Patterson.
Pic: Supreme Court of Victoria
Evidence from a computer seized from Patterson’s home showing searches for other kinds of poisons was also excluded from the trial.
The mother-of-two maintained her innocence throughout the case, with her defence calling the deaths a “terrible accident”.
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A sentencing hearing is due to begin on 25 August, to determine how long Patterson will serve in prison. She faces a potential life sentence for each of the murders and 25 years for attempted murder.
Once sentenced, Patterson will have 28 days to lodge an appeal, which her lawyers have indicated will happen.
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