Moment husband confronted mushroom cook over toxic meal

Mushroom navigator Erin Patterson says she became frightened and frantic aft her estranged hubby accused her of purposely serving up a toxic beef Wellington luncheon arsenic her in-laws were fighting for life.

"Is that really you poisoned my parents, utilizing that dehydrator?" she recalls Simon Patterson's confrontation.

The 50-year-old has fixed grounds for a 3rd time successful her Supreme Court proceedings successful location Victoria.

She has pleaded not blameworthy to 3 murders and 1 attempted execution complete nan July 2023 luncheon allegedly laced pinch decease headdress mushrooms she served to Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66.

All 3 died successful infirmary days aft eating nan meals, while Heather's hubby Ian Wilkinson was nan sole surviving luncheon guest.

Patterson maintains nan poisonings were not deliberate.

She was admitted to Monash Medical Centre pinch her children days aft experiencing tummy cramps and diarrhoea and aft doctors recovered traces of decease headdress mushrooms successful her very sick luncheon guests.

Patterson had fed her kids leftovers nan time aft nan lunch, but pinch nan mushroom filling scraped off.

She recalled connected Wednesday really Simon confronted her successful hospital, asking if she had deliberately poisoned his parents.

"I said, 'of people not'," Patterson told nan court.

Her estranged husband's remark caused her to deliberation astir really she had utilized nan dehydrator to barren foraged mushrooms weeks earlier.

"I started to think, 'what if they had gotten successful there, successful nan instrumentality pinch nan dried Chinese mushrooms'," she said.

"Simon was of nan mind that this was intentional and I sewage really scared."

Patterson was "frantic" erstwhile she sewage home, telling nan tribunal she felt work because "I had made nan repast and served it and group had sewage sick".

So nan adjacent time she took nan dehydrator to nan rubbish tip.

"I was frightened that they would blasted maine for it," she said.

"Blame you for?" defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked.

"For making everyone sick. I was frightened they'd region nan children," Patterson responded.

"I thought location mightiness beryllium ... grounds of immoderate foraged mushrooms successful there."

The alleged murderer connected Wednesday revealed nan steps she took to make nan beef Wellington dish.

Patterson made "deviations" to nan RecipeTinEats recipe, including buying 10 beef tenderloin steaks aft being incapable to find a log of beef, swapping successful filo pastry alternatively of making a crepe and omitting mustard and prosciutto because Ian didn't eat pork.

She recalled starting early connected nan time by frying ail and chopped shallots earlier adding 2 tubs of mushrooms she bought from Woolworth to make nan duxelles, aliases nan mushroom wrapping.

"I cooked it down. I tasted it a fewer times. It seemed bland truthful I decided to adhd nan mushrooms from nan grocer I had successful my pantry," she told a afloat tribunal room and 14 jurors.

Mandy SC asked her to bespeak connected what whitethorn person been successful that further instrumentality of mushrooms from nan pantry, which she said she bought successful Melbourne.

"Now I deliberation that location was a anticipation location were foraged ones successful location arsenic well," she responded.

Patterson antecedently said she began foraging for chaotic mushrooms during nan COVID-19 pandemic successful 2020 astatine Korumburra Botanic Gardens, connected her three-acre properties successful Korumburra and Leongatha and on a obstruction trail.

She had accepted location "must person been decease headdress mushrooms" successful nan luncheon she served.

Patterson recalled plating up 5 beef Wellingtons pinch mashed potatoes and greenish beans, pinch Ian, Don and Heather finishing their full plates, Gail eating "quite a batch of hers, not all" which Don finished.

She ate astir a 4th to a 3rd of her ain plate.

"I was talking a lot. I was eating slowly," she said.

After nan guests had left, Patterson was cleaning up erstwhile she said she had nan remainder of nan barroom Gail had brought, which near her truthful afloat that she "went to nan toilet and brought it backmost up again".

Lines of group funny to drawback a glimpse of Patterson giving grounds person stretched from nan location court's doors arsenic nan lawsuit continues into its sixth week.

The proceedings resumes connected Thursday.

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