Accused mushroom murderer Erin Patterson has told a court why she picked beef wellington to serve her lunch guests and about “deviations” she made to the cookbook recipe — admitting the possibility existed there were foraged mushrooms in the mix.
Erin Patterson has told the court she “got really scared” and disposed of the dehydrator after her estranged husband asked her if it had been used to “poison” his parents. FOLLOW LIVE
Erin Patterson says she has spent years foraging for wild mushrooms and started dehydrating them in the months before the fateful lunch, as she admitted there were lethal death cap mushrooms in the beef wellington meal.
Erin Patterson is being questioned about the mushrooms she used to make the beef wellington meal that left three of her guests dead.
A digital forensics officer who analysed a device seized from Erin Patterson’s home is giving evidence about a tranche of messages relating to the deceased lunch guests.
A computer seized from Erin Patterson’s house was used to visit a web page of a death cap mushroom sighting in Melbourne’s southeast, a jury has heard.
A device seized from the home of accused mushroom cook killer was used to visit the iNaturalist website, which the jury heard earlier was used to record sightings of various fungi species, including death caps.
Footage of accused mushroom cook killer Erin Patterson at a service station the day after the lethal lunch has been played to the jury.
CCTV footage has been played to the jury, showing accused mushroom cook killer stopping at a service station and buying a sandwich and sour lollies day after the deadly lunch.
Mushroom cook Erin Patterson’s phone was detected near an area in Gippsland where lethal death caps were growing one day after their exact location was posted online by a mushroom expert, a jury has heard.
A digital forensic expert has told the jury the alleged murderer’s phone was detected near two known sites of toxic death cap mushrooms in the days after their locations were posted online.
The “Mushroom cook” trial has been about family ties, and the relationship between Erin Patterson and her estranged husband has been littered in the evidence, where money became an issue.
A forensic toxicologist has returned to the witness box to detail how bodily fluid samples taken from lunch guests were analysed by experts and linked to highly poisonous mushrooms.
Forensic testing uncovered toxins from death cap mushrooms in debris taken from inside the dehydrator discarded at a tip, the jury in the Erin Patterson trial has heard.
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/the-mushroom-cook/page/3