Erin Patterson: Mushroom Lunch Cook Pleads Not Guilty to Murder

An Australian woman who allegedly killed three people with a lunch of poisonous mushrooms has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Erin Patterson, 49, faces three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder over the fatal beef Wellington meal in July last year.

Police also allege she tried to kill her ex-husband on three other occasions.

Mrs. Patterson has always maintained her innocence.

She has repeatedly said she did not intentionally poison her guests, and was asked at Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on Tuesday to formally enter guilty pleas to the charges against her.

“He is not guilty, your honour,” he said, appearing via video link.

The peculiar case has shocked the world and left a close-knit regional Victorian community reeling.

Mrs Patterson hosted a lunch at her home in Leongatha, a two-hour drive south-east of Melbourne, on July 29. Her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson attended, along with Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and Heather’s husband, Ian. Police have said Ms Patterson’s ex-husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited, but he was unable to attend at the last minute.

Hours after eating, the four guests fell ill with what they initially thought was severe food poisoning. Within days, the Patterson couple, both 70, and Mrs Wilkinson, 66, had died. Wilkinson, 68, survived after spending nearly three months in the hospital.

Police say they believe the four ate death mushrooms, which are highly lethal if ingested.

Police named Ms Patterson as a suspect after she appeared unharmed after lunch.

After months of investigation, detectives allegedly discovered three more attempted murders that Ms. Patterson committed against her ex-husband between 2021 and 2022, and in November she was arrested and formally charged with eight crimes in total.

His case will now be rushed to the Supreme Court in Melbourne for trial, with his first hearing scheduled for May 23.