An Australian mother stands accused of murdering three family members by poisoning them with deadly fungi. Erin Patterson is on trial for the killing of the parents of her husband, whom she’s separated from, and his aunt. A fourth victim, the aunt’s husband, survived.

Morwell

An Australian woman, Erin Patterson, is on trial accused of murdering her estranged husband's parents and his aunt by serving them a meal containing death cap mushrooms, one of the world's most poisonous fungi. The incident occurred during a family lunch where only Patterson and one other guest survived, with the latter requiring weeks of hospital treatment.

Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges, claiming she used store-bought mushrooms and added dried mushrooms from her cupboard, some of which she had foraged herself. She admits the possibility that death cap mushrooms were included in the mix but denies any intent to harm. The trial is ongoing, with the court examining whether the poisoning was deliberate or accidental.

Death cap mushrooms: How a family meal in Australia turned deadly

I want to tell you about this wild story I'm covering out of Australia. Some of you might find this a little bit triggering, especially if you've been through a divorce. And it all starts with a beef wellington. Erin Patterson is an Australian mother of two. She was at a family lunch where she served these individually portioned beef wellingtons. Sitting at the table, Don and Gail Patterson, the elderly parents of her estranged husband Simon, the two of them are separated. Also there, Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, and her husband, Ian, the local church pastor. Prosecutors say only Erin survived the lunch unscathed. Their meal contained a deadly ingredient, death cap mushrooms, among the world's most poisonous fungi. Experts say they've been found growing in the area around that Australian town. Eating those mushrooms killed Don, Gail, and Heather. Ian, the pastor, did survive, but only after weeks in the hospital. The key question now is whether Patterson deliberately added death cap mushrooms to the beef wellington, or was it an accident? She has pleaded not guilty to all charges. It has been three months since we first heard about this deadly mushroom mystery. This case is captivating the world. Here's what we know so far about the mushrooms. Patterson says she used store-bought mushrooms, but then she added dried mushrooms from her cupboard for extra flavor. Those mushrooms, she admits, may have included some she picked herself as part of her foraging hobby. She acknowledges there were death caps in the dry mushroom mix, but says she never meant to pick those. Patterson ate the food herself. So how did she survive when the other lunch guests were killed? In court on Wednesday, Patterson said she had not eaten too much of the beef wellington as she was eating slowly. Patterson then said that while cleaning up from lunch, she binged on leftover dessert, eating almost an entire cake and then forcing herself to throw it up, in line with her earlier experiences with eating disorder bulimia. She says she did get sick and eventually went to the hospital. Ian Wilkinson testified that Patterson told guests she had cancer. In court on Thursday, she denied saying that, but she has admitted to earlier lying about having cancer in text messages. She now says the real issue was gastric band surgery, but claims she was too embarrassed to admit it at the time. A doctor has testified that she does not have cancer. Take a look at these texts between Erin and her ex Simon from the day before. Simon, I feel too uncomfortable about coming to the lunch with you, mom, dad, Ian and Heather tomorrow, but I'm happy to talk about your health and the implications of that at another time. Erin, that's really disappointing. I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow, which has been exhausting in light of the issues I'm facing, and spent a small fortune on beef filet to make beef wellingtons because I wanted it to be a special meal. As I may not be able to host a lunch like this again for some time, it's important to me that you're all there tomorrow, and that I have the conversations I need to have. The case is set to run through the months, when a jury will then decide whether Patterson accidentally added poison mushrooms to the meal, or put them there on purpose.

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