WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A jury was deliberating for a second day Tuesday within the triple murder trial of an Australian lady accused of killing her estranged husband’s family by intentionally serving them toxic mushrooms for lunch.
The jurors who started deliberating Monday are sequestered, a rarity in Australia that displays public and media fervor concerning the case in opposition to Erin Patterson, with a number of information shops publishing stay blogs that coated each second of the two-month trial. The jurors will stay secluded till they attain a unanimous determination on the costs of homicide and tried homicide.
Three of Patterson’s 4 lunch visitors — her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson — died within the hospital after the 2023 meal, at which she served particular person beef Wellington pastries containing death cap mushrooms. The fourth, Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, grew to become gravely sick however survived.
Patterson, 50, instructed the trial she did not intentionally poison her visitors and must have accidentally mixed up store-bought and wild mushrooms, which she had foraged herself with out understanding they have been loss of life caps. She additionally mentioned she ate the mushrooms however did not get as sick as a result of she threw up quickly after the lunch on account of an consuming dysfunction.
Prosecutors within the case, which has gripped Australia for two years, mentioned the accused lady researched, foraged and served the mushrooms intentionally and lied to investigators to cowl her tracks. Patterson accepted she had disposed of a meals dehydrator after the deadly meal and reset her telephone a number of occasions.
The prosecution mentioned she lied about having a dire medical analysis to make sure her visitors attended the lunch, cooked particular person pastries to keep away from poisoning herself, and faked signs to make it look as if she fell sick, too.
Prosecutors didn’t supply a motive however prompt a deteriorating relationship between the accused and her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, in addition to her exasperation together with her former in-laws. Simon Patterson was invited to the deadly lunch however didn’t go.
Patterson would face life in jail if she is convicted.