Jury deliberates for 2nd day in the triple murder trial of Australian accused of mushroom poisonings
The jurors who began deliberating Monday are sequestered, a rarity in Australia that reflects public and media fervor about the case against Erin Patterson, with several news outlets publishing live blogs that covered every moment of the two-month trial. The jurors will remain secluded until they reach a unanimous decision on the charges of murder and attempted murder.
Three of Patterson's four lunch guests — her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson — died in the hospital after the 2023 meal, at which she served individual beef Wellington pastries containing death cap mushrooms. The fourth, Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, became gravely ill but survived.
Patterson, 50, told the trial she didn't deliberately poison her guests and must have accidentally mixed up store-bought and wild mushrooms, which she had foraged herself without knowing they were death caps. She also said she ate the mushrooms but didn't get as sick because she threw up soon after the lunch due to an eating disorder.
Prosecutors in the case, which has gripped Australia for two years, said the accused woman researched, foraged and served the mushrooms deliberately and lied to investigators to cover her tracks. Patterson accepted she had disposed of a food dehydrator after the fatal meal and reset her phone multiple times.
The prosecution said she lied about having a dire medical diagnosis to ensure her guests attended the lunch, cooked individual pastries to avoid poisoning herself, and faked symptoms to make it look as though she fell ill, too.
Prosecutors didn't offer a motive but suggested a deteriorating relationship between the accused and her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, as well as her exasperation with her former in-laws. Simon Patterson was invited to the fatal lunch but didn't go.
Patterson would face life in prison if she is convicted.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
37 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Man who killed his family after his wife sought a divorce is set for execution in Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A man who killed his wife and two children in 1994 after she sought a divorce is scheduled for execution in Florida under a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Edward J. Zakrzewski, II, is set to die July 31 in the ninth execution scheduled for this year in the state. He pleaded guilty in 1996 to three counts of first-degree murder and received three death sentences in the killings of wife Sylvia Zakrzewski, son Edward Zakrzewski, 7, and Anna Zakrzewski, 5. The man beat his wife with a crowbar and machete and strangled her to death and killed the children with a machete June 9, 1994, in Okaloosa County. He eventually turned himself into law enforcement after the case was profiled on the television show 'Unsolved Mysteries,' according to court documents. Another man on death row, Michael Bernard Bell , 54, is set to die by lethal injection July 15 at Florida State Prison. He's convicted of killing two people outside a bar. Thomas Lee Gudinas , 51, who was convicted of raping and killing a woman in Florida, was executed following a lethal injection at the same prison last week. The state also executed six people in 2023 but only carried out one execution last year. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Ex-FBI agent charged in Capitol riot now works on Justice Department's ‘weaponization' task force
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI agent who was charged with joining a mob's attack on the U.S. Capitol and cheering on rioters is now working as an adviser to the Justice Department official overseeing its 'weaponization working group,' which is examining President Donald Trump's claims of anti-conservative bias inside the department. The former FBI supervisory agent, Jared Lane Wise, is serving as a counselor to Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin Jr., who also serves as director of the working group, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss a personnel matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. A department spokesperson declined to comment. The New York Times was first to report on Wise's appointment. When Trump returned to the White House in January, he picked Martin to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. But the president pulled his nomination to keep the job on a more permanent basis two days after a key Republican senator said he could not support Martin for the job due to his defense of Capitol rioters. Martin was a leading figure in Trump's 'Stop the Steal' movement. He spoke at a rally in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. He represented three Jan. 6 defendants and served on the board of the nonprofit Patriot Freedom Project, which reports raising over $2.5 million to support riot defendants. Attorney General Pam Bondi called for creating the 'weaponization' group in February to investigate claims by Trump and Republican allies that the Justice Department unfairly targeted conservatives during President Joe Biden's administration. The group's review includes the work of former special counsel Jack Smith, who led two federal prosecutions of Trump that were ultimately abandoned after Trump was elected to a second term. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro replaced Martin as the top federal prosecutor in Washington, but Martin immediately moved over to his current Justice Department position. Wise, who worked as a special agent or supervisory special agent for the FBI from 2004 through 2017, was arrested in Oregon on Capitol riot-related misdemeanor charges in May 2023. Wise repeatedly shouted, 'Kill 'em!' as he watched rioters assaulting officers outside the Capitol, according to an FBI agent's affidavit. Wise clapped his hands and raised his arms 'in triumph' after he entered the building through the Senate wing door, the affidavit says. He left the building about nine minutes after entering. Police body camera footage showed Wise berating police officers outside the Capitol and repeatedly shouting, 'Shame on you!' 'I'm former law enforcement,' he told them.' You're disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo. You can't see it.' Wise was on trial in Washington when Trump returned to the White House in January and immediately pardoned, commuted prison sentences or ordered the dismissal of cases for all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in the attack. The case against Wise was dismissed before the jury reached a verdict. ___ Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Al-Qaida-linked group claims attack against Mali army position near Senegal
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Armed men attacked a Mali community just over the border from Senegal, Mali's military said Tuesday — a development that one expert called especially worrying as the deadly violence spreads. The al-Qaida-linked JNIM extremist group claimed responsibility for the coordinated attack on several Malian army positions in the country's west and central regions. One position was in Diboli, across the border from Senegal, which has been largely spared the extremist attacks. 'The border region to Senegal is a major gateway for trade and imports from Dakar ports to Mali that had been relatively stable for years,' said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. 'This will also worry border communities in Senegal.' Malian army spokesperson Col. Majo Souleymane Dembélé said on national television that the army had 'neutralized' 80 attackers. There were no details on any casualties among soldiers. Mali, a landlocked nation in the semiarid Sahel region, for more than a decade has battled an insurgency by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups , Mali's authorities have expelled French forces and turned to Russia's mercenary units for assistance, but the security situation has been deteriorating. Attacks by extremists have been on the rise in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso in recent weeks. JNIM has established a strong presence in both. ____ AP's Africa coverage at: Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
