Woman accused of killing dinner guests with deadly Beef Wellington 'ate from different plate,' trial hears
A woman accused of murdering three people with a Beef Wellington laced with toxic mushrooms has gone on trial in Australia, with the court hearing she ate from a smaller, different coloured plate to her guests.
Listen to this article
Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the murders of three people - including both of her parents-in-laws.
She also faces and one attempted murder charge relating to the poisoned Beef Wellington she served at her house in 2023.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
A jury has been picked and opening statements at the trial have been heard. Prosecutors say Ms Patterson deliberately poisoned her guests. The defence told the jury the meal was a "tragedy, a terrible accident" and she did not mean to hurt anyone.
Ms Patterson served her guests individual beef wellington portions on grey plates, while she ate off a smaller orange plate, according to guest Ian Wilkinson, who became seriously ill after the lunch, but survived.
Gail and Don Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, all died after eating the meal.
Read more: 'Mass casualty incident' sees 11 children hospitalised after eating 'toxic mushrooms'
Read more: Mushroom poison murder suspect pleads not guilty as she makes huge decision over trial
Heather's husband Ian was left fighting for his life and remained in hospital for two months after joining them at the meal, which police say contained death cap mushrooms.
These sprout freely across wet, warm parts of Australia and can be easily mistaken for edible strains.
Patterson has insisted she used button mushrooms and dried mushrooms bought from a supermarket and an Asian grocery shop and was unaware of their poisonous quality.
In her statement to police, she said she served the email and invited guests to choose their own plates. She took the last serving and ate the meal too.
Said she also ate the meal but has survived, later suffered stomach pains and diarrhoea, claiming her children ate the beef wellington the following day but without the mushrooms.
“I now very much regret not answering some questions ... given the nightmare that this process has become,” the statement adds.
“I am now wanting to clear up the record because I have become extremely stressed and overwhelmed by the deaths of my loved ones.
“I am hoping this statement might help in some way. I believe if people understood the background more, they would not be so quick to rush to judgement.
“I am now devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones. I really want to repeat that I had absolutely no reason to hurt these people whom I loved.”
Patterson will be tried in a court south of Melbourne around an hour from where the meal was eaten.