Four unanswered questions after woman guilty of mushroom killings ...Middle East

An Australian woman has been found guilty of murdering her estranged husband’s elderly parents and aunt with a poisoned Beef Wellington meal laced with deadly mushrooms.

A jury decided Erin Patterson, 50, killed Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson with pastries filled with lethal death cap mushrooms.

She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, Ms Wilkinson’s husband, who survived the meal at Patterson’s home in Leongatha, Victoria.

Patterson will be sentenced at a later date and is facing life in prison, but questions remain over the case after a 10-week trial which sparked huge international interest.

Patterson served individual beef Wellington pastries so, prosecutors argued, she could lace the other diners’ portions, but not her own.

Erin Patterson murdered her husband’s parents and aunt by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with toxic mushrooms, a jury found (Photo: Anita Lester and Handout / Latrobe Valley Law Courts/ AFP)

Three of the guests died several days after the meal. Mr Wilkinson, who required a liver transplant, survived.

The prosecution did not offer a motive for the killings, but under Australian law, it did not have to prove one to secure a conviction.

However, during the trial they highlighted strained relations between Patterson and her estranged husband, Simon Patterson and frustration she had felt about his parents in the past.

The defence insisted there was no clear motive for Patterson to kill people she claimed to love.

Before the jury retired to consider their verdict, Justice Christopher Beale told jurors the prosecution didn’t need to present a motive for the murders in order for Patterson to be found guilty.

“Some murders occur for no apparent reason,” he said.

But, he added, the defence had argued Patterson had a motive not to kill her lunch guests, which he told the jury was “a significant consideration you must have regard to.”

Instead, the 12-person jury at  Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell returned a unanimous verdict finding Patterson guilty of all three murders and attempted murder.

Source of the mushrooms

Patterson had claimed the poisonous fungi may have been placed in the meal by mistake after she included foraged mushrooms she didn’t know were death caps.

She had originally told police investigators she had bought some dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery in Melbourne, but couldn’t remember where.

But detectives discovered death cap mushrooms had been spotted in two nearby towns in the weeks before the fatal meal was served, with Patterson’s mobile phone location showing she had visited both areas.

She had bought a food dehydrator on her way home from one of the trips, which she disposed of at a dump the day after being discharged from hospital.

During her trial, Patterson denied lying about foraging for mushrooms with her children despite them not recalling doing so when questioned by police.

She also denied allegations from prosecutors that she had sent police on a wild goose chase after they hunted for the Asian grocery store she claimed she had bought them from.

Patterson claimed she realised in the days after the lunch that the beef Wellington may have included mushrooms she had foraged and put in a container with store-bought ones by accident.

Patterson allegedly tried to kill her ex-husband four times, according to court documents, and originally faced three charges of attempting to murder him.

Police documents court stated that she had tried to murder Simon Patterson three times between November, 2021 and September, 2022.

Erin Patterson had tried to kill Simon Patterson several times, according to court documents, but charges of attempted murder were later dropped (Photo: Martin Keep / AFP)

The alleged fourth attempt was the day she served the poisoned beef Wellington lunch to his parents and aunt.

Mr Patterson had been due to come to the deadly lunch at her home in the rural town of Leongatha, Victoria, on July 29 to discuss access to their children but cancelled at the last minute.

One of the charges of attempted murder allegedly occurred in May 2022 when Mr Patterson collapsed at home with a mystery illness, spending 16 days in an induced coma.

But the charges of attempted murder were dropped on the eve of the trial and the allegations were not put to the jury.

Why did she take the stand?

Patterson’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy, called her to the stand late to begin questioning her before she was cross-examined by prosecutors.

But given the evidence against her, some observers were surprised Patterson didn’t plead guilty to murder as she may have received a reduced sentence.

Instead, she was the only witness in her defence, spending eight days on the stand, including five days of cross-examination.

An alleged murderer testifying as a witness in their own defence is a rare strategy and normally a last resort, said Nicholas Papas, a veteran criminal barrister based in Melbourne who frequently acts in murder trials.

“The risk is that when you call your client, then suddenly people start focusing on your client,” he said.

During her time in the witness box, Patterson claimed to have had a “never-ending battle” with low self-esteem, planned for weight loss surgery and struggled with an eating disorder.

She frequently became emotional as she spoke about the impact of the lunch on the Patterson family and her two children.

But during her days of cross-examination by prosecutor Nanette Rogers she repeatedly clashed over minor details.

But Patterson’s decision to take her chances with a jury and convince them of her innocence failed and she is now facing a life sentence.

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