In the news Last month, Australian mother Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder after three people died after eating a toxic mushroom meal she had cooked earlier this year. At time of press, she had not yet entered a plea, but has previously denied deliberately posioning her former family members.
On 29 July, Patterson, 49, from Leongatha in Victoria, served a beef Wellington to her estranged parents-in-law Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Ian, 68. Six days later, Gail and Heather died, followed by Don, who died on 5 August. Ian was left critically ill and spent almost two months in hospital. Patterson’s ex-husband Simon had been invited to the…
