Australian woman accused of killing former husband’s relatives with poisonous mushrooms pleads not guilty
An Australian woman accused of feeding poisonous mushrooms to several members of her ex-husband’s family has pleaded not guilty to three murder charges and five attempted murder charges. Authorities allege that she served toxic wild mushrooms to four people at a lunch last year, killing three of them and leaving a fourth seriously ill.
Erin Patterson, 49, appeared briefly in Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court by video link from a Melbourne prison, where she has been held since her arrest in November. She is accused of killing her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.
All three died in a hospital days after consuming a meal at Patterson’s home in July.
the BBC reported.
Ian Wilkinson spent seven weeks in a hospital following the lunch. The BBC had reported during his hospitalization that Ian Wilkinson was waiting on a liver transplant.
Police say the symptoms of the four sickened family members were consistent with poisoning from wild amanita phalloides, known as death cap mushrooms. They grow in wet, warm areas throughout Australia and can be mistaken for edible mushrooms. But death caps contain toxins that poison the liver and kidneys after being consumed.
Patterson could face up to 25 years in prison for each attempted murder charge, while murder in the state of Victoria carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Source: cbsnews.com