Woman charged with murder after poisonous-mushroom meal left 3 of her ex in-laws dead
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- Erin Patterson was charged with murder in relation to a meal containing poisonous mushrooms.
- Three people died after eating lunch at her house, including her former parents-in-law.
- Toxicology reports found that the meal likely contained incredibly poisonous death cap mushrooms.
An Australian woman was charged with murder on Thursday following an incident in which three people died after eating a meal prepared at a private residence, Victoria Police said.
Erin Patterson, 49, was charged with murdering her former parents-in-law, Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail Patterson's sister, 66-year-old Heather Wilkinson.
The three died after eating lunch at Patterson's home in Leongatha, Australia, on July 29.
The lone survivor among the guests was Heather Wilkinson's husband, Ian Wilkinson, who spent two months in hospital, police said.
According to the Daily Mail, Patterson had organized the meal in an attempt to reconcile with her estranged ex-husband, Simon Patterson, who pulled out at the last minute.
Toxicology reports found that her beef wellington likely contained extremely poisonous death cap mushrooms, per BBC News.
Patterson was named as a suspect in the suspicious deaths after she and her two children, who hadn't attended the lunch but ate leftovers, appeared unharmed, according to BBC News.
She claimed her children removed the mushrooms because they didn't like fungi, per BBC News.
Patterson, who has maintained her innocence, reportedly told police that she used a combination of button mushrooms bought from a grocery store as well as dried fungi she bought from an Asian food market, per the Daily Mail.
She is in custody and is set to appear at Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court on Friday morning.
Alongside the murder charges, Patterson was also charged with five counts of attempted murder.
Three of these relate to separate incidents involving a 48-year-old man who became ill following meals in 2021 and 2022, police said.
Victoria Police Detective-Inspector Dean Thomas said in a statement that the investigation had been "incredibly complex."
"Over the last three months, this investigation has been subjected to incredibly intense levels of public scrutiny and curiosity," he said, adding: "I cannot think of another investigation that has generated this level of media and public interest."
"I think it is particularly important that we keep in mind that at the heart of this, three people have lost their lives," he said.