SHOCKING new details have emerged in the chilling case of the mushroom cook killer who poisoned her former in-laws and aunt to death.
Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson was found guilty of lacing a beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms – the world’s most lethal fungus – to kill her guests.
Erin Patterson was found guilty of lacing a beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms; Patterson is pictured inside a prison van[/caption]
The Aussie tried to kill her estranged husband Simon (pictured) by poisoning bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry[/caption]
An annotated photo of plates containing samples of a beef Wellington meal laced with toxic mushrooms that was prepared by Erin Patterson[/caption]
Amanita phalloides, or a death cap mushroom is the world’s most lethal fungus[/caption]
It has now emerged that Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband Simon by poisoning bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry, the court heard.
She tried to poison him on three occasions between 2021 and 2022, according to freshly released evidence.
The mum also tried to feed him a batch of poison-laced cookies she claimed their daughter had baked him
The potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behaviour before the killings were kept from the jury to give the mum a fair trial.
However, a Supreme Court judge today rejected an application to keep these allegations secret.
Simon told a pre-trial hearing how Patterson had asked him to taste test a batch of curries she had made.
He said: “I remember Erin saying that the purpose of the taste test was so she could, I guess, customise future curry production for our respective tastes.”
He later fell ill after eating a mild chicken korma served by Patterson on a camping trip in 2022.
“At first I felt hot, especially in my head, and that led to feeling nauseous and then that led to me quite suddenly needing to vomit,” Simon added.
He eventually fell into a coma before receiving life-saving surgery to remove a section of his bowel.
He later told doctor Christopher Ford that he had come to suspect Patterson might be deliberately poisoning him.
Simon became worried when Patterson offered him a batch of homemade cookies, Ford said.
“Simon was apprehensive about eating the cookies, as he felt they may be poisoned,” the doctor told a pre-trial hearing last year.
“He reported to me that while they were away, Erin called several times and enquired about whether he had eaten any of the cookies.”
When his parents fell gravely ill after eating at Patterson’s house, Simon would regretfully confide these fears in his family.
He had been invited to the fatal lunch which killed his parents as well, but pulled out because he felt “uncomfortable”.
“He wanted to tell us that he had suspected his own illnesses had been a deliberate act,” cousin Ruth Dubois told a pre-trial hearing.
“He had stopped eating food that Erin had prepared, because he suspected that she might have been messing with it.
“And that he was really sorry that he hadn’t told our family.”
Patterson pulled out of the fatal lunch because he felt ‘uncomfortable’[/caption]
Erin Patterson in Melbourne, Australia[/caption]
Prosecutors dropped those charges before the start of Patterson’s trial, with tight restrictions preventing the media from revealing any details.
Patterson hosted an intimate meal in July 2023 that started with good-natured banter and earnest prayer — but ended with three guests dead.
A 12-person jury found the 50-year-old guilty of murdering Simon’s parents Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt Heather Wilkinson.
She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian, a well-known pastor at the local Baptist church.
Throughout a trial lasting more than two months, Patterson maintained the beef-and-pastry dish was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms, the world’s most lethal fungus.
Simon had been invited to that lunch as well, but pulled out because he felt “uncomfortable”.
Death cap mushrooms are easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and reportedly possess a sweet taste that belies their potent toxicity.
Patterson will return to court on August 25 for hearings that will determine how long she spends behind bars.
Gail Patterson, Erin’s former mother-in-law, died after eating the beef wellington[/caption]
Gail’s husband Don Patterson was also killed by the toxic meal[/caption]
Heather Wilkinson, left, died after lunch while her husband Ian, right, was left fighting for life[/caption]
