An Australian woman charged with the murder of three individuals using death cap mushrooms has denied that she was trying to hide evidence when she left the hospital against medical advice for 95 minutes.
Erin Patterson, 50, faces accusations of murdering her estranged husband’s parents and aunt in July 2023 by lacing a beef Wellington lunch with the toxic fungi.
She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest at the lunch—her husband’s uncle—who survived the meal after an extended hospital stay.
Ms. Patterson pleads not guilty to all charges in a trial that has attracted international media attention.
Two days following the lunch, Ms. Patterson went to the hospital but departed shortly after against medical advice, stating she needed to organize care for her children and pets and would return shortly.
She was out for 95 minutes before coming back to receive medical care, according to court testimonies.
Prosecution lawyer Nanette Rogers alleged that Ms. Patterson used this time to “cover your tracks” and only returned to the hospital to “maintain the fiction of being similarly unwell as your lunch guests.”
Prosecution lawyer Nanette Rogers leaving court on 3 June
Online mushroom search
Ms. Patterson dismissed the accusation.
“I am sure I did some thinking during that time, but it was not about covering my tracks,” Ms. Patterson stated.
The defendant claimed she used the 95-minute interval to prepare her child’s ballet bag and feed her animals.
The court was informed that internet records showed Ms. Patterson’s device accessed a website listing death cap mushroom sightings in May 2022—a year prior to the lunch.
Ms. Patterson stated she could not recall visiting that website.
She disputed the claim that she must have been familiar with it since she accessed a specific webpage.
Erin Patterson hosted her family for lunch at her isolated home in Leongatha
The lunch host mentioned that her “only interest” in death cap mushrooms was to ensure they were not growing in the South Gippsland area where she lived.
The prosecutor asserted that Ms. Patterson’s true interest lay in “death cap mushrooms generally,” not merely in their local growth.
Ms. Patterson denied that allegation.
‘Lying’ about vomiting
Ms. Patterson had invited her estranged husband, Simon, to the family lunch at her secluded home in the Victorian farming village of Leongatha.
Simon declined the invitation, expressing discomfort about attending, as the court previously heard. The couple was long estranged but remained legally married.
Simon’s parents, Don and Gail, along with his aunt, Heather Wilkinson, attended the meal, and all three passed away within days.
Heather’s husband, Ian, became seriously ill but eventually recovered.
Ms. Patterson testified that she had an eating disorder and made herself vomit after her guests left, which explained why she did not become as ill as her lunch guests.
Ms. Rogers suggested to Ms. Patterson that she was “lying” about her vomiting.
Ms. Patterson replied: “I wish that were true, but it is not.”
The trial in Morwell, southeast of Melbourne, is anticipated to continue for another two weeks.
