4 d. ago Australia mushroom trial live: Erin Patterson tells court she felt ‘scared, responsible’ after husband asked if she poisoned his parents using dehydrator

Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder over a fatal 2023 beef wellington lunch. Follow liveErin Patterson explains health lies, food issues and how she made mushroom lunch as murder trial continuesWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom trial?Erin Patterson says it was ‘a possibility’ foraged mushrooms were in containerMandy turns to preparations for the meal.I cooked that for a very long time.You’ve got to get almost all of the water out so it won’t turn your pastry soggy.I decided to put in the dried mushrooms which I bought from the grocer which I still had in the pantry. Continue reading...

Society

6 d. ago Erin Patterson trial live: lead detective in Australian mushroom case continues giving evidence on day 24 of trial

Trial of Victorian woman, 50, who has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder over a fatal 2023 beef wellington lunch, enters sixth week. Follow liveMandy is showing the jury a flow chart which shows three sim cards police investigated.Eppingstall previously told the court there were three phones police believed Patterson used – two Samsungs and a Nokia. He said one of the Samsungs, referred to as phone A, had never been recovered. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Lead detective denies police errors in mushroom lunch investigation as Erin Patterson trial continues

Defence argues photos taken by police inside Patterson’s home appear to show computers and a phone that were not seized during searchWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom murders trial?The detective in charge of the investigation into the deadly beef wellington lunch served by Erin Patterson has denied police made several errors in the case, including failing to seize electronic items during a search of her house and wrongly identifying her son on CCTV footage, a court has heard.Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning her four lunch guests – relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson – with a beef wellington served at her house in Leongatha, Victoria on 29 July 2023. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Erin Patterson murder trial live: witnesses in mushroom trial continue giving evidence on day 20 of case

Australian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder after a mushroom lunch at her house in regional Victoria in 2023. Follow live updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWe are waiting for today’s proceedings to get under way. Here’s a recap of what the jury heard on Monday from our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci:Welcome to day 20 of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial. Evidence is expected to begin after 10.30am once the jurors enter the courtroom. Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha, in regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023. The prosecution alleges that Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests with “murderous intent” but her lawyers say the poisoning was a tragic accident. Patterson is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her e...

Events

2 w. ago Mushroom trial live: witnesses to continue giving evidence on day 14 of Erin Patterson murder trial

Australian woman, 50, faces three murder charges and one charge of attempted murder over lethal mushroom lunch. Follow live updatesMcKenzie says in her role she answered calls from members of the public and professionals regarding ingestion of a range of poisonous substances including fungi.She tells the court what her role involved when someone calls the help line:We need to ascertain the circumstances, for instance it might be a toddler who has a nibble of a little brown mushroom and nothing more. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Erin Patterson murder trial live: witnesses continue to give evidence on day 12 of alleged mushroom murder case

Australian woman, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha. Follow live updatesThe jurors have not entered the court room yet.While we wait for today’s proceedings to kick off, here’s a report from our justice and courts reporter, Nino Bucci, on what the trial heard yesterday: Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Erin Patterson murder trial live: witnesses continue to give evidence on day 11 of the alleged mushroom murder case

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha. Follow live updatesKey figures in the mushroom lunch trialDr Thomas May began giving his evidence yesterday, telling the court that:death cap mushrooms were most commonly reported in Maythere had been three known sightings of death cap mushrooms in the Gippsland regionthe “citizen science” website iNaturalist is often used to report sightingsa smooth capa white stem which usually has a visible ringwhite gills Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Mushroom expert who discovered death caps near Erin Patterson’s home gives evidence in triple murder trial

Victorian court hears from mycologist who posted photos and GPS coordinates of death cap mushrooms on ‘citizen science’ websiteKey figures in the mushroom murders trialAn internationally renowned mushroom expert who discovered death caps near Erin Patterson’s home has started his evidence in her triple murder trial.Dr Thomas May, a mycologist or scientist specialising in fungi, appeared in Patterson’s trial on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Erin Patterson murder trial: witnesses to continue giving evidence on day ten of mushroom case

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha. Follow live updatesThe prosecution’s next witness is Dr Laura Muldoon, who assessed Erin in the Monash hospital emergency department.Muldoon says she spoke to Erin on 31 July - two days after the lunch when she was transferred to Monash hospital. She says Erin’s reported symptoms were nausea and abdominal pain.One of the types, she said, came from the supermarket with plastic over the top. The other pack she said she got from an Asian food shop a number of weeks prior.She said they were in a packet but she’d opened the packet and put them in a container.She said she couldn’t remember but perhaps if she drove past the shop she could recognise it.She did say they had a strong smell.I said I was trying to make sure there was no public health issue. Continue reading...

Events

last month Erin Patterson’s daughter says accused mushroom poisoner was ‘very good’ cook, murder trial hears

Patterson’s son tells jury eye-fillet steak from leftovers of fatal lunch was ‘some of the best meat I’ve ever had’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastErin Patterson’s children ate the leftovers of her beef wellington lunch after their mother and relatives fell ill eating the same meal the previous day, a court has heard.Videos of interviews the siblings gave separately to police on 16 August 2023 have been shown to the jury in Patterson’s triple murder trial. Continue reading...

Events