STAFF WRITERS
THE accused murderer at the core of the Leongatha mushroom poisoning case, Erin Patterson, has pleaded not guilty to all of her charges.
Patterson is accused of three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
Patterson attended the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court through video link from prison on the morning of May 7, opting to fast-track her case to Victoria’s Supreme Court for trial.
The change comes after Patterson’s legal team asked for the case to stay at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court on Monday, April 22.
If the case remained in Morwell, the committal hearing might not have been heard until 2025.
It was explained that Patterson had changed her mind since she last fronted the court to perhaps avoid a committal hearing, where evidence against Patterson would have been tested publicly for the first time.
The allegations against Patterson concern a meal that took place in the town of Leongatha in July 2023, during which four individuals fell unwell.
Their Beef Wellington lunch made headlines across the world when three people died and one was left fighting for their life from what is believed to be mushroom poisoning.
Patterson’s in-law’s Don and Gail Patterson passed away along with Gail’s sister, Heather. Heather’s husband, Ian, was the only survivor after spending months in hospital.
The attempted murder charges against Patterson date back to 2021, following the dissolution of her marriage to Simon Patterson.
The Age reported that the prosecution now alleges that Patterson attempted to murder her then-husband, Simon Patterson, at Korumburra between November 16 and 17, 2021, at Howqua between May 25 and 27, 2022, and at Wilsons Promontory on September 6, 2022.
She is also accused of attempting to kill her then-husband at Leongatha on July 29, where the fatal mushroom meal was ultimately served.
Patterson had been ordered to appear in Victoria’s Supreme Court on May 23 for a directions hearing.
