Berliner Tageblatt - Australian mushroom murder suspect rejected help preparing meal: witness

Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering the parents and aunt of her estranged husband with a poisonous beef Wellington in 2023.

She is also charged with the attempted murder of Baptist pastor Ian Wilkinson, who recovered after a lengthy stay in hospital.

Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Wilkinson was questioned as Patterson's headline-grabbing trial entered its second week on Tuesday.

Patterson seemed "reluctant" for her guests to rummage around in the pantry before eating, Wilkinson said, and rejected offers to help plating up the dish.

"We said grace, we began eating," Wilkinson told the jury at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, southeast of Melbourne.

Patterson allegedly laced the beef-and-pastry dish with poisonous mushrooms.

Wilkinson said that hours after eating he and wife Heather began vomiting, but initially dismissed it as a "case of gastro".

They eventually went to hospital.

Heather -- the aunt of Patterson's estranged husband Simon -- died in the days following the lunch.

Patterson's parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson also died as a result of ingesting the meal.

Wilkinson said he had little memory of what happened after falling ill, and spent two months recovering in hospital.

"When we met, things were friendly. We never had arguments or disputes. She just seemed like an ordinary person," Wilkinson said of Patterson.

The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests and took care that she did not consume the deadly mushrooms.

Her defence lawyers said it was the result of "a terrible accident".

The trial is expected to last about six weeks.

O.Lorenz--BTB