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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Nino Bucci Justice and courts reporter

‘The perfect dish for them’: Erin Patterson explains why she included dried mushrooms in fatal lunch

Erin Patterson Don Patterson Gail Patterson Simon Patterson Murder Heather Wilkinson Ian Wilkinson Nanette Rogers SC Victoria iNaturalist
Erin Patterson
Erin Patterson faced questions about the lunch she served at her home in regional Australia that contained deadly mushrooms and killed three people. Photograph: James Ross/AP

Erin Patterson has denied leading health officials on a “wild goose chase”, and that she foraged death cap mushrooms two hours before buying a food dehydrator, a Victorian court has heard.

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning four lunch guests with beef wellington served at her house in Leongatha, Victoria, on 29 July 2023.

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