US EditionSome charges against alleged mushroom lunch killer dropped
- The trial of Erin Patterson, accused of murdering three elderly relatives by serving poisonous mushrooms, began in Victoria, Australia, on April 29, 2025.
- Prosecutors dropped charges of attempted murder against Patterson's husband, Simon, narrowing the case to the deaths tied to a beef wellington lunch in 2023.
- Fifteen jurors were selected at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court for a trial expected to last five to six weeks amid significant local and international interest.
- Justice Christopher Beale stated, "Those charges have been dropped and you must put them out of your mind," referring to the discontinued attempted murder counts.
- The case highlights fatal poisoning from wild Amanita phalloides mushrooms allegedly served at Patterson's home in Leongatha, suggesting possible life imprisonment if convicted.
127 Articles
127 Articles
The defense of an Australian woman accused of killing three people with poisonous mushrooms says it was a "terrible accident."
By Jessie Yeung and Hilary Whiteman Lawyers for an Australian woman accused of fatally poisoning three family members with deadly mushrooms told jurors their deaths were a “horrible accident.” Erin Patterson is on trial for the 2023 deaths of her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson; her father-in-law, Donald Patterson; and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, who all died in hospital days after Patterson served them a meal containing deadly mushrooms. Sh…
He invites his relatives to lunch and serves them the Angel of Death, one of the most lethal mushrooms in the world: 50-year-old on trial for the murder of his husband's ex-in-laws and aunt
A family lunch turned into a death trap. A delicious dish, the Wellington-style fillet, which becomes the instrument of a lucid murder plan. The trial opened today, Wednesday, April 30, in the Supreme Court of the State of Victoria, in Australia, with Erin Patterson, 50, accused of killing three relatives of her ex-husband and of trying to kill a fourth man by serving him poisonous mushrooms at the table. The facts date back to July 29, 2023.
Woman stands trial charged with murdering ex-husband's relatives with poisonous mushrooms
The Australian host of a weekend family lunch is on trial charged with murdering her estranged husband’s parents and an aunt and attempting to murder an uncle with poisonous mushrooms.
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