E-Paper
Australia's mushroom killer earlier served poisoned chicken korma to husband
Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering three of her husband's family members, including his parents, by serving them a meal full of death cap mushrooms.
Investigation into the infamous 'mushroom murder' in Australia continues, and a fresh accusation against Erin Patterson, the accused, alleges that she also tried to poison her husband using chicken korma curry.
Erin was found guilty of murdering her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, her father-in-law, Donald Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, by serving them beef Wellington lunch full of deadly death cap mushrooms in July 2023.
Police has now alleged that between 2021 and 2022, Erin made three attempts at her husband's life, by serving him poisoned pasta bolognese, chicken korma curry and a vegetable wrap, news agency AFP reported on Friday.
The fresh accusations against Erin were revealed after the Supreme Court rejected an application to keep the allegations suppressed. Back when the probe into the 2023 murders began, several grave allegations linked to Patterson's behaviour were withheld from the jury in an effort to give her a fair trial.
Before Erin's trial began, the charges of her poisoning the three dishes between 2021 and 2022 were dropped, reportedly with tight restrictions preventing media from revealing them.
The murder victims were served the Wellington beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans, laced with deadly death cap mushrooms when they visited Erin at her house in Leongatha, a small town about 84 miles southeast of Melbourne in 2023. Apart from the three murders, Erin was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian, a pastor at the local Baptist church.
Erin had argued that the dish she served was unintentionally contaminated with death cap mushrooms, that are highly toxic, also known as world's most lethal fungus. They are often mistaken for edible varieties, are said to have a deceptively pleasant taste despite their extreme toxicity.
While Erin Patterson was found guilty of the murders last month, a sentencing is still awaited. She will appear before the court on August 25 in hearings that will determine how long she spends in jail. After she is sentenced, her team will have 28 days to challenge both her convictions and sentencing.
