An Australian woman facing charges of murdering three individuals and attempting to murder a fourth with death cap mushrooms has denied accusations that she left a hospital against medical advice to “cover her tracks.” Erin Patterson, 50, appeared in court Tuesday as the high-profile trial, which has garnered international attention, continues.
Patterson is accused of fatally poisoning her estranged husband’s parents and aunt in July 2023 by serving a beef Wellington lunch allegedly laced with the deadly fungi. She also faces a charge of attempted murder concerning a fourth guest, her husband’s uncle, who survived the meal following a prolonged hospitalization.
Patterson maintains her innocence on all charges, asserting that the individually portioned beef-and-pastry dish she prepared was inadvertently contaminated.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the court heard that two days after the fatal lunch, Patterson presented herself at a hospital but departed within minutes, against medical guidance. She stated at the time that she needed to arrange care for her children and animals, promising to return shortly.
Prosecution lawyer Nanette Rogers challenged Patterson on this 95-minute absence before her eventual return for medical treatment. Rogers alleged that Patterson utilized this period to “cover your tracks” and that her subsequent return to the hospital was merely to “maintain the fiction of being similarly unwell as your lunch guests.” Patterson has denied these assertions.
