12th May 2025
To kick off the summer season the fascinating Jury trial taking place in Victoria, Australia was referenced by our contributor Seamus Gunn this morning where a 50-year-old Australian, Ms. Erin Patterson faces 3 murder charges and attempted murder as she stands accused of killing 3 relatives, while injuring another by serving a lunch contaminated by poison mushrooms. It may very well be the stuff of screen play in years to come but for now the trial is captivating not only for an Australian audience but a worldwide one. Seamus Gunn outlined that while it was accepted that the deaths did occur as a result of poisoning, it is claimed by the Defence that it was all a tragic, terrible accident, and that Ms. Paterson did not mean to hurt or harm anyone. The evidence that she is facing would seem to be circumstantial but a couple of aspects were highlighted, being the disposal of the food dehydrator used to dry out the mushrooms being linked to her and a claim that she had purchased the product in a food store but the prosecution maintained that mobile phone data suggested that she travelled to an area where death cap mushrooms grew. The dehydrator can be linked to Ms. Patterson according to the prosecution by way of fingerprints and it is also claimed that there were traces of death cap mushrooms found on it. There are further claims that Ms. Patterson’s had invited her guests to lunch to inform them that she was diagnosed with cancer. She also invited her ex-husband, but he did not attend. The prosecution maintains that she did not have cancer, this point is hotly contested by the Defence. Greg Hughes highlighted the circumstantial nature of the evidence, and our contributor agreed but thought that there were some strands of the Defence that may not add up which could be telling. Ultimately this will be a matter for the Jury to decide, the case continues.
The Q&A as always is available to listen to below: