- Erin Patterson, 49, has pleaded not guilty in an Australian court to three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
- Patterson is accused of killing his former stepparents, Don Patterson and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66.
- Police believe the symptoms of the sick family members are consistent with death cap mushroom poisoning.
A woman accused of supplying poisonous mushrooms to her ex-husband’s family pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in an Australian court on Tuesday.
Erin Patterson, 49, has appeared briefly in Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court by video link from Melbourne Prison since her arrest last November. She is accused of murdering her ex-girlfriend’s stepparents, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66.
All three died in hospital days after having dinner at Patterson’s home in July.
Woman under investigation after killing three of her ex-in-laws by eating poisonous mushrooms
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges and will make her first appearance in the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne on May 23.
This courtroom sketch shows Erin Patterson appearing in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on November 3, 2023. Patterson, who is accused of supplying poisonous mushrooms to her ex-husband’s family, pleaded her innocence to three charges in an Australian court on Tuesday. Five counts of murder and attempted murder. (AAP Image via Anita Lester/AP)
The proceedings were expedited after Mr. Patterson skipped a hearing in which a judge would have reviewed the prosecution’s case to ensure there was enough evidence to warrant a jury trial.
She has not applied for bail during her four court appearances.
Erin Patterson is also charged with the attempted murder of her ex-husband Simon on three previous occasions dating back to that lunch and 2021. Simon Patterson did not accept her invitation to attend lunch.
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She is also charged with the attempted murder of Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson.
Ian Wilkinson spent seven weeks in hospital after lunch.
Police said the symptoms of the family of four who fell ill were consistent with poisoning by a wild amanita mushroom, also known as the death cap mushroom.
Erin Patterson could face up to 25 years in prison for each attempted murder charge, and up to life in prison for the murder charge in Victoria.
