Press
A seemingly unfortunate mushroom poisoning in Australia caused an international stir last year. Now a woman has to answer for murder.
Leongatha – Amateur chef Erin Patterson invites her husband's family to lunch in Australia on July 29, 2023. The The 49-year-old cooks especially for her four guests and serves a fillet of Wellington with mushrooms. But shortly after the invitation, all of the guests suddenly feel bad. You have to be taken to the hospital with severe food poisoning. Three people die as a result of the poisoning, only one barely survives. The cook herself, however, is not missing anything.
Man's family dies from mushroom poisoning – Australian woman has to answer for murder
Now you have to Erin Patterson will stand trial in May on three counts of murder and attempted murder. According to the police, the fillet apparently contained highly poisonous mushrooms. In a preliminary hearing on Monday (April 22nd), the judge responsible set the date for the trial to begin on May 7th. The defendant has been in custody since November and attended the hearing from prison. She wore a blue convict suit and gave only a brief response to a question about her lawyer.
The case had previously caused an international stir because the hostess was the only person who survived the meal without any problems. Her husband Simon Patterson's parents and his uncle and aunt were invited. The uncle was the only one of the guests to survive, but was in the hospital for almost two months. It later became known that the police suspected the highly poisonous green death cap (Amanita phalloides) as the cause of death.
This grows in many parts of Australia and is similar to edible mushrooms. However, it contains a strong poison that can lead to liver and kidney failure. According to experts, just one green death cap contains enough poison to kill a healthy adult. There are poisonous mushrooms not only in Australia, but also in Germany.
Did an Australian woman poison her in-laws? Incidents in the past pose puzzles
The police have not yet commented on possible motives for the murder. The suspect and her husband, Simon Patterson, have been separated for some time. Her husband was not present at the meal. How The Guardian According to police reports, Simon Patterson had also become ill after eating his wife's meals in the past. Three of these incidents took place between 2021 and 2022. They would be included in the trial as attempted murder charges.
According to information from ABC Erin and Simon Patterson have two children together. They went to a cinema before lunch and were therefore not present at the meal. After the fatal lunch, Erin herself protested her innocence: She had bought the mushrooms at a grocery store and had no reason to harm her guests. (nz/afp)
#court #mushroom #poisoning #Australian #woman #accused #murder