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By: BBC
An Australian woman accused of killing three people by feeding them poisonous mushrooms for lunch has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Erin Patterson, 49, faces three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder in July last year.
Police also claim that she tried to kill her estranged husband on three other occasions.
Ms Patterson has always maintained her innocence.
He has repeatedly said he did not poison his guests on purpose, and on Tuesday in Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court he was asked to plead guilty to the charges against him.
“I am innocent, sir,” he said, appearing via video.
The case has been followed in many places in the world.
Ms Patterson hosted the lunch at her home in Leongatha – south-east of Melbourne – on 29 July.
In attendance were her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, as well as Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and Heather’s husband Ian.
Police said Ms Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson was also invited but could not make it at the last minute.
Hours after eating the meal, all four guests fell ill with what they thought was severe food poisoning.
A few days later, the Patterson couple, both 70, and Mrs Wilkinson, 66, died. Mr Wilkinson, 68, survived, after spending almost three months in hospital.
Police say they believe the four ate a type of mushroom – which is extremely dangerous if ingested.
Ms. Patterson was named by the police as a suspect because she was apparently unharmed after the lunch.
After months of investigation, detectives allegedly uncovered three other attempted murders that Mrs Patterson had carried out against her estranged husband between 2021 and 2022, and in November she was arrested and formally charged with eight offenses in total.
His case will now be fast-tracked in the Victorian Supreme Court in Melbourne with his first hearing scheduled for May 23.
