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

Erin Patterson concocted cancer diagnosis to ensure children missed fatal mushroom lunch, murder trial hears

The alleged mushroom murders trial of Erin Patterson has begun in Morwell. She has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to the 2023 beef wellington lunch she served.
The alleged mushroom murders trial of Erin Patterson has begun in Morwell. She has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to the 2023 beef wellington lunch she served. Photograph: Paul Tyquin/AAP

Erin Patterson panicked and lied to police about having never foraged for mushrooms or owning a food hydrator because she was overwhelmed that her lunch guests died after eating food she had cooked, her lawyer has told a Victorian court.

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023.

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