First photos of toxic beef wellington that killed three revealed as Australian woman found guilty of murder
The first photos of the poison-laced beef wellington lunch that killed three people in Australia have been revealed, after a woman who cooked up the toxic feast was found guilty of murder.
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Erin Patterson, 50, had pleaded not guilty to the murders of Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. On Monday she was found guilty of triple murder, and of attempting to murder a fourth guest, Pastor Ian Wilkinson, who survived.
Now, images of the deadly fungi that poisoned them has been revealed in photo exhibitions released by the court.
Pictures show specimen carrier bags, containing samples of the Beef Wellington meal prepared by Patterson.
The 50-year-old previously said she added the deadly fungi in a bid to improve a 'bland' meal but maintains that their presence was not deliberate and a tragic accident.
She has denied measuring out a 'fatal dose' after she was asked in court if pictures of mushrooms on weighing scales were proof that she did.
"I suggest that you were weighing these death cap mushrooms so that you could calculate the weight required for the administration of a fatal dose for one person. Agree or disagree?" barrister Nanette Rogers asked.
"Disagree," Patterson replied.
The jury returned guilty verdicts for all her charges.
Patterson remained 'silent' and 'composed' as the verdicts were delivered.
The verdicts mean she could spend the rest of her life behind bars.
During the court appearance, Patterson admitted to consuming the mushroom meal before vomiting it up shortly after the guests left her home - something she says saved her from the worst effects of the poison.
She told the court that the self-induced vomiting came after eating nearly a whole cake, with the accused stating she had faced a decade-long battle with bulimia.
Patterson's lawyer earlier told the Supreme Court trial that the poisoning was a tragic accident but prosecutors said it was deliberate.
Long queues formed outside the Latrobe Valley Courthouse in June after Patterson took the stand, which was the first time she had spoken publicly since the deaths.
During several hours of evidence at the trial in June, Patterson, 50, told the court she began foraging fungi during the Covid-19 lockdown of March 2020, witnessed only by her children."I cut a bit of one of the mushrooms, fried it up with some butter and ate it," she said. "They tasted good and I didn't get sick."
Patterson said she also fed foraged mushrooms to her children, chopped up "very, very small" so they could not pick them out of curries, pasta and soups.
She developed a taste for exotic varieties, joined a "mushroom lovers" Facebook group, and bought a dehydrator to preserve her finds, Patterson said.