Erin Patterson was arrested and charged with murder on 2 November 2023. Photo: Screenshot / ABC
Prosecutors say it will take months to analyse computer equipment seized from the home of a woman charged with murder over a mushroom meal linked to three deaths in Victoria's east.
Erin Trudi Patterson, 49, faced court this morning after she was yesterday charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
The allegations centre around a beef Wellington lunch served on 29 July this year by Patterson to four of her relatives. Three of the people who attended the lunch later died of suspected mushroom poisoning.
She was arrested on Thursday and faced the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court at Morwell in a filing hearing on Friday morning.
Her lawyer did not apply for bail.
The case was adjourned until 3 May next year, with prosecutors indicating they would need time to analyse computer equipment seized at Patterson's home yesterday.
Of the charges, the three counts of murder and two of the attempted murder charges relate to the 29 July lunch, after which her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson fell ill and later died.
Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, also fell gravely ill but made a recovery and was released from hospital in late September.
Charge sheets show police have accused Erin Patterson of the attempted murder of Wilkinson and her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, on the date of the beef Wellington lunch.
She also faces three counts of attempting to murder Simon Patterson between November 2021 and September 2022.
Patterson remained straight-faced during the court hearing, other than to acknowledge the magistrate.
As the magistrate discussed the timetabling of the case with the prosecutor and defence lawyer, he told Patterson: "These are all administrative matters. Don't get too concerned."
Case 'likely' to proceed to committal hearing, court told
In court, a police prosecutor sought a lengthy adjournment in the case, saying it would take 20 weeks for investigators to prepare a brief of evidence to serve to Patterson's lawyer.
Patterson's lawyer Bill Doogue said it was "likely" the case would proceed to a committal - a stage in the legal process where a magistrate assesses whether there is sufficient evidence for the matter to proceed to a Supreme Court trial.
"It could well go for a very long time. It seems to be based on a lot of analysis which we haven't received and hasn't even been completed at this point in time," Doogue said.
The magistrate adjourned the case to a committal mention on 3 May next year.
Magistrate Walsh said the case would remain in the Latrobe Valley for now, but could be shifted to Melbourne to ensure it progressed efficiently.
"The important thing is the matter progresses through the system as quickly as is reasonably possible without having it languishing for too long," Magistrate Tim Walsh said.
Erin Patterson maintains her innocence
Patterson has always maintained she did not intentionally poison her guests and has denied any wrongdoing.
In a written statement sent to police in August, Patterson said she bought some fungi at a supermarket and an Asian grocery store, which she used in the beef Wellington served at the lunch.
She said she herself was hospitalised after eating the meal.
Police have previously said they were investigating the possibility that the three people who died after the lunch had eaten death cap mushrooms, but they were awaiting the outcome of toxicology analysis.
The death cap mushroom is a highly poisonous species which was introduced to Australia from Europe and can cause serious harm to the liver and other organs.
In the days after the deaths, Patterson told reporters she was "devastated" by the loss of her relatives.
- This story was first published by the ABC.
