Erin Patterson, 50, has been accused of an elaborate plan to poison and kill three of her in-laws at her home in Australia – she is on trial after they fell ill shortly after eating her food
The mum on trial for allegedly killing three people after she served them beef Wellington bragged about tricking her kids into eating her food laced with fungi, a court heard. Erin Patterson, 50, from Australia, has been accused of murdering her mother and father-in-law, Gail and Donald Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson.
She is also on trial for the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson. The victims fell ill after eating her beef Wellington dish, which prosecutors claim was poisoned with death cap mushrooms. The court earlier heard how her husband’s family tucked into the beef Wellington, which was served off four grey plates. However, Erin’s plate differed from the rest and was a smaller, tan-coloured plate.
READ MORE: Erin Patterson ‘made up cancer story’ to lure in-laws and keep kids out of fatal lunch, trial hears
Erin’s friends, who she met on Facebook but has never seen in person, have testified with bombshell evidence this week. Christine Hunt, Daniela Barkley, and Jenny Hay, hit it off with Erin after they all bonded over their love for true crime.
In one text exchange, the court heard Erin said: “I’ve been hiding powdered mushrooms in everything. Mixed it into chocolate brownies yesterday. The kids had no idea.” According to her pals, she shared how she purchased a dehydrator in the lead up to the three deaths. Stay-at-home mum Barkley told the court Patterson was “excited” about her latest purchase.
Patterson disputed claims that she ever owned one, but police later found a dehydrator containing the mushrooms at a garbage dump close-by. Barkley also claimed Erin once asked the group for some advice on how to make beef Wellington, with Hay offering her some suggestions to make sure it didn’t come out soggy.
Her Facebook friends further told the court Erin moaned about her husband, Simon, and accused him of being “controlling” in their relationship. According to the group, Erin used to complain about Simon and his family’s religious beliefs because she was an atheist.
The mum-of-two has denied allegations that she purposely poisoned the dishes, with her defence team describing it as a “terrible accident.” She allegedly lured Simon’s family over for dinner and pretended she had cancer.
“After the lunch, the accused announced that she had cancer and asked for advice on whether to tell the children or to keep it from them,” Prosecutor Nanette Rogers said.
“They had a discussion about it being best to be honest with the children. They prayed as a group for the accused’s health and wisdom in relation to telling the children.”
Defence lawyer Colin Mandy told the jury his client never had cancer and that the guests had been poisoned by mushrooms she had served, but that the poisoning was accidental. “The defence case is what happened was a tragedy. A terrible accident,” he said.