- An Australian woman is on trial for allegedly murdering three guests with poisoned beef Wellington.
- Erin Patterson, 50, faces charges for spiking the dish with death cap mushrooms in July 2023.
- Prosecutors claim she deceived her victims by fabricating a cancer diagnosis to host the lunch.
An Australian woman accused of murdering three lunch guests with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington engaged in "calculated" deception to lure her victims, cook the deadly meal, and then cover it up, a court heard on Monday.
Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering her estranged husband's parents and aunt in July 2023 by spiking the beef-and-pastry dish with death cap mushrooms.
She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest -- her husband's uncle -- who survived the lunch after a long stay in hospital.
Patterson denies all charges in a trial that has grabbed worldwide attention.
She says the traditional English dish, which she cooked in individual portions, was poisoned by accident.
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers outlined "calculated deceptions" that she said in her closing submission demonstrated Patterson intended to kill her lunch guests.
In the first "elaborate" lie, Patterson said she was hosting the lunch to discuss a health issue, telling her guests on the day that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Medical records showed she never had cancer.
'Die With Them'
Patterson had "planted the seed of the lie" in the months leading up to the lunch, telling her in-laws about various medical tests she needed, the prosecutor said.
"The accused put considerable thought and effort into this cancer claim," Rogers said.
Patterson originally invited her estranged husband Simon to join the family meal at her secluded home in the farm village of Leongatha in Victoria state.
However, he turned down the invitation, saying he felt uncomfortable going, the court heard earlier. The pair were long estranged but still legally married.
Simon Patterson's parents Don and Gail, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, attended the lunch. All three were dead within days.
Heather Wilkinson's husband Ian fell gravely ill but eventually recovered.
Mushrooms Deception
In what Rogers said was a second deception, Patterson deliberately sought out the fatal fungi and "secreted lethal doses" in her guests' meals.
By serving individual portions, Patterson could avoid consuming the fatal mushrooms herself, Rogers said.
The court also heard that Patterson knew how to find death cap mushrooms because she had accessed a website that documented sightings of the fatal fungi a year before the lunch.
Patterson also served her guests' meals on four grey dinner plates while hers was on a different-coloured plate, the prosecutor said.
"The only reason to do that is because she knew that there were poisoned mushrooms in the other meals," Rogers said.
Patterson knew how to dehydrate, blitz and hide the mushrooms in the food, the court heard.
Fake Symptoms
In a third deception, Patterson allegedly lied to family and medical staff about falling ill after the lunch.
"She knew she had not eaten death cap mushrooms, but realised she needed to look sick so suspicion would not fall on her," Rogers said.
While her four guests were rushed to hospital, Patterson delayed seeking medical attention for two days.
Patterson then discharged herself within minutes, saying she needed to make arrangements for her children and animals before being admitted.
She was "comfortable" leaving the hospital because she had not consumed the toxic fungi, Rogers said.
Patterson later returned to hospital and was discharged after a single night, the court heard.
She was not given the death cap mushroom antidote that was administered to her lunch guests.
The Cover-Up
In Patterson's final deception, she "lied and acted deceptively to deflect blame and suspicion about what she had done", Rogers said.
That included claiming she had fed the beef Wellington leftovers to her children after scraping off the mushroom paste and pastry.
Patterson's children never ate the contaminated meat, the prosecutor said.
Rogers said Patterson also lied about where she sourced the mushrooms, initially telling authorities she had used fresh mushrooms from a supermarket and dried fungi from an Asian grocer.
Despite extensive investigations, no such Asian grocer was found.
The trial in Morwell, southeast of Melbourne, is in its final stages.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
