A woman accused of killing her ex-husband’s parents and an aunt by feeding them beef Wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms has appeared in court.
Erin Patterson made a brief appearance at Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court via video link from a prison in Melbourne, Australia, where she has been held since she was arrested in November last year.
The 49-year-old mother of two has been charged with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder.
Magistrate Tim Walsh said during Monday’s hearing that he will announce on May 7 whether Patterson will face a committal hearing at the same court in Morwell or in Melbourne.
Morwell is a rural town near Patterson’s home, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) east of Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria.
The committal hearing will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring charges to a jury in a trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
It was Patterson’s second court appearance on the charges.
He has not yet pleaded guilty or applied for bail.
Erin Patterson appears before Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on November 3, 2023. Photo: AP
Patterson is accused of killing her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.
All three died in hospital days after eating at Patterson’s home in Leongatha, Victoria, in July last year.
Ian and Heather Wilkinson. Photo: The Australian Salvation Army – Museum
She is also accused of the attempted murder of Mrs Wilkinson’s husband, the Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68.
Reverend Wilkinson spent seven weeks in hospital after lunch.
Police said the symptoms of the four who fell ill were consistent with poisoning by wild Amanita phalloides, known as death mushrooms, which are responsible for 90% of all toxic mushroom-related deaths.
Patterson is also charged with the attempted murder of her ex-husband, Simon Patterson, at that lunch and on three previous occasions dating back to 2021.
He had not accepted an invitation to lunch.
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Detectives searched Erin Patterson’s property in November last year. Photo: AP
In court, Walsh asked if Patterson could hear at the beginning of the hearing and she responded, “Yes, thank you.”
His lawyer, Colin Mandy, said his client wanted the committal hearing to be held in Morwell, even if it meant a delay until next year.
“If this happens next year, then Mrs. Patterson will be happy to wait,” Mandy told the magistrate.
He added that Patterson said he wanted the hearing to be held near his home.
Defense attorneys have provided prosecutors with a list of witnesses expected to be called at the trial.
Mandy said she expected the hearing to last three weeks.
The maximum possible sentence in Victoria for murder is life imprisonment and for attempted murder is 25 years in prison.