Berliner Tageblatt - Husband feared Australia's mushroom killer had poisoned him before

Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty in July of murdering her husband's parents and elderly aunt in 2023, lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms.

A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson's behaviour in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial.

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale on Friday rejected an application to keep these allegations secret.

Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband Simon on three occasions between 2021 and 2022, police alleged in one of the major claims not heard during the trial.

She was accused of serving him poisoned dishes of pasta bolognese, chicken curry and a vegetable wrap, according to freshly released evidence.

Simon told a pre-trial hearing in October last year how Patterson had asked him to taste test a batch of curries she had made.

"I remember Erin saying that the purpose of the taste test was so she could, I guess, customise future curry production for our respective tastes," he said in testimony suppressed until now.

He later fell ill after eating a mild chicken korma served by Patterson on a camping trip in 2022.

"At first I felt hot, especially in my head, and that led to feeling nauseous and then that led to me quite suddenly needing to vomit," he said.

Simon eventually fell into a coma before receiving life-saving surgery to remove a section of his bowel.

He later told doctor Christopher Ford that he had come to suspect Patterson might be deliberately poisoning him.

He became worried when Patterson offered him a batch of homemade cookies, Ford said.

"Simon was apprehensive about eating the cookies, as he felt they may be poisoned," the doctor told a pre-trial hearing last year.

"He reported to me that while they were away, Erin called several times and enquired about whether he had eaten any of the cookies."

When his parents fell gravely ill after eating at Patterson's house, Simon would regretfully confide those fears to his family.

"He wanted to tell us that he had suspected his own illnesses had been a deliberate act," cousin Ruth Dubois told a pre-trial hearing.

"He had stopped eating food that Erin had prepared, because he suspected that she might have been messing with it.

"And that he was really sorry that he hadn't told our family."

Prosecutors dropped those charges before the start of Patterson's trial, with tight restrictions preventing media from revealing any details.

- Lethal fungus -

Patterson hosted an intimate meal in July 2023 that started with good-natured banter and earnest prayer -- but ended with three guests dead.

A 12-person jury found the 50-year-old guilty of murdering Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt Heather Wilkinson.

She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Heather's husband Ian, a well-known pastor at the local Baptist church.

Simon had been invited to that lunch as well, but pulled out because he felt "uncomfortable".

At the time, Patterson's relationship with Simon was starting to turn sour.

The pair -- long estranged but still legally married -- had been fighting over Simon's child support contributions.

Patterson's trial drew podcasters, film crews and true crime fans to the rural town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet in the state of Victoria better known for prize-winning roses.

Newspapers from New York to New Delhi followed every twist of what many now simply call the "mushroom murders".

Throughout a trial lasting more than two months, Patterson maintained the beef-and-pastry dish was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms, the world's most-lethal fungus.

Death cap mushrooms are easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and reportedly possess a sweet taste that belies their potent toxicity.

Patterson will return to court on August 25 for hearings that will determine how long she spends behind bars.

Her legal team has 28 days after sentencing to appeal both her criminal convictions and her sentence.

F.Müller--BTB