Woman suspected of killing three people with toxic mushrooms inside beef wellington in Australia charged
A woman suspected of serving a beef wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms, which killed three family members, has been charged.
Erin Patterson, 49, cooked the meal at her home in Leongatha, a small rural town in southeast Australia, on Saturday 29 July.
Her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, were among those who ate the meal, which is suspected to have contained poisonous fungi known as death caps – which are responsible for 90% of all toxic mushroom-related fatalities.
Mrs Patterson’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68, were also at the table.
All four felt unwell by midnight that evening.
Mrs Patterson and Mrs Wilkinson died nearly a week later on Friday 4 August.
Mr Patterson died the next day, while Reverend Wilkinson was left in a critical condition in hospital. He is the only individual to have survived.
Ian and Heather Wilkinson. Pic: The Salvation Army Australia – Museum
Victoria Police confirmed a woman had been charged on 2 November, as part of their investigation into the deaths, and also with other attempted murder charges relating to earlier incidents.
They did not directly name Patterson.
detective Inspector Dean Thomas of Victoria Police’s Homicide Squad said: “A 49-year-old woman was arrested this morning and interviewed by police.
“The Leongatha woman has subsequently been charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
“The murder charges and two attempted murder charges relate to an incident on 29 July where four people were taken to hospital after they fell ill following a meal at a private residence in Leongatha.
“The further three attempted murder charges relate to three separate incidents in Victoria between 2021-2022.
“It’s alleged a 48-year-old Korumburra man became ill following meals on these dates.”
A police search at a home on Gibson Street was also being carried out, with the assistance of technology detector dogs.
‘I didn’t do anything’
Patterson has always denied any wrongdoing, and in August broke down in tears when speaking outside her home.
“I’m so sorry that they have lost their lives. I just can’t believe it. I didn’t do anything, I love them, and I’m devastated they are gone,” she said.
In a separate voluntary statement to police, Patterson said she served the meal and allowed the guests to choose their own plates. She then took the last plate and ate some of the beef wellington herself.
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She said she suffered bad stomach pains and diarrhoea after the meal and was taken to hospital, adding she was transported by ambulance from the Leongatha Hospital to the Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne on 31 July.
Patterson claimed the mushrooms used to prepare the meal were a mixture of button mushrooms purchased at a supermarket, and dried mushrooms purchased at an Asian grocery store in Melbourne several months ago, which were in a hand-labelled packet.
Contrary to initial reports from police, Patterson’s two children had gone to the cinema and did not eat the meal.
Police have urged anyone with any information to contact them.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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