May 7 (UPI) — An Australian woman charged with three counts of murder on accusations of killing three members of her extended family last year pleaded not guilty Tuesday.
Erin Patterson was charged in November with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
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The 49-year-old mother of two is accused of killing Gail and Don Patterson, the 70-year-old parents of Erin Patterson’s ex-husband, Simon Patterson, and his 66-year-old aunt Heather Wilkinson, last summer when she fed them a meal made with poisonous mushrooms.
Prosecutors allege that she intended to kill her then-estranged husband, who was not at the July 29 lunch at her home.
Ian Wilkinson, Heather Wilkinson’s husband, was one of the four guests at the meal. He became critically ill after consuming the dish but survived.
She is also accused of attempting to kill Simon Patterson on three separate occasions, once in late 2021 and twice the next year.
Erin Patterson has claimed innocence.
On Tuesday morning, Erin Patterson appeared from prison via video link in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell, located about 93 miles southeast of Melbourne, and entered her not guilty plea to each of the eight charges.
She also opted to fast-track litigation before the Victorian Supreme Court, changing her previous defense strategy of seeking a committal hearing, which would have occurred sometime next year.
Her barrister, Colin Mandy SC, confirmed for the court Tuesday that this is the method his client would like to pursue.
