Victim of Deadly Mushroom Lunch Noted the Plates Differed

The trial of the Australian woman accused of feeding family members a deadly lunch in 2023 opened Wednesday in the Victoria state Supreme Court. As the BBC reports, that Erin Patterson, 50, served her guests individual beef Wellingtons that contained death cap mushrooms is not in question. "The overarching issue is whether she intended to kill or cause very serious injury," Justice Christopher Beale told the court. Patterson's in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died; Wilkinson's husband, Ian Wilkinson, 68, survived after a liver transplant. Highlights from day one of what is expected to be a six-week trial:

• The invite: Prosecutor Nanette Rogers told the court Erin Patterson invited the group to lunch two weeks prior to the poisoning. She also extended an offer to husband Simon Patterson, 50, from whom she had been separated since 2015. "She said the purpose of the lunch was to discuss some medical issues that she had and to get advice about how to break it to the kids," Rogers said, per the AP. "The accused said that it was important that the children were not present for the lunch."
• The response: Simon Patterson initially said yes then changed his mind the night prior, reports the Guardian. Rogers said the Wilkinsons were surprised by the invite, as they had never been asked to come to her home.

• The conversation: Rogers said Erin Patterson told her guests she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which was not true, and sought their advice on whether to tell her kids. "They had a discussion about it being best to be honest with the children. They prayed as a group for the accused's health and wisdom in relation to telling the children," Rogers said.
• The plates: While at the hospital, prosecutors said Heather Wilkinson told Simon Patterson that she noticed Erin Patterson had eaten off a different plate, one with colors on it, which she found puzzling.
• Alleged lies: Rogers said she would present phone location evidence that shows Erin Patterson twice went to the locations that a website indicated death cap mushrooms had been spotted, lied about the source of the mushrooms, and disposed of a food dehydrator allegedly used to prep the mushrooms.
• Motive: The jury won't hear speculation about one from Rogers. "You might be wondering now why would the accused do this? What is the motive? You might still be wondering this at the end of this trial," she said. "You do not have to be satisfied what the motive was or even that there was a motive."
• The defense: Defense lawyer Colin Mandy told the court he plans to make the case it was all a "terrible accident" and that Erin Patterson panicked after the deaths. That caused her to lie about certain details, he said, such as not having foraged for mushrooms, though he insisted she was not seeking out death caps.
• The charges: Erin Patterson faces three counts of murder and one of attempted murder; the former counts carry up to life in prison, while the latter carries a maximum penalty of 25 years.

(More Erin Patterson stories.)