An Australian woman on trial for murder has told the court she has long been a mushroom enthusiast, recently

Erin Patterson denies intentionally poisoning three relatives and attempting to kill a fourth by serving them a meal at her home in Victoria in July 2023.

Prosecutors allege she deliberately included the poisonous mushrooms in the dish, but her defence insists it was a tragic accident and that she may have accidentally included mushrooms that she had foraged.

On the second day of her testimony, Patterson explained she began foraging wild mushrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic, years before the fatal meal.

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The alleged victims — — were hospitalised after eating beef wellington at the lunch and died days later. Ian Wilkinson, the uncle of Patterson’s estranged husband, also fell seriously ill but survived after weeks of treatment.

Her lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, asked if she accepted that the beef Wellington pastries she had served to her lunch guests in 2023 contained death caps. "Now I think there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there," she replied.

She described gathering mushrooms from various locations including botanic gardens, a nearby rail trail, and her own property. She told how she mainly picked field mushrooms and sometimes foraged with her two children.

“The dog was eating some and I picked the mushrooms that I could see because I wanted to try and figure out what they were to see if it was a problem,” she said.

"They were ones that were potentially edible but there was one species I was a little bit worried about. I believe they were called inocybe.”

Erin said she researched types of mushrooms on groups for mushroom lovers. After trying out a mushroom she cooked at home and not feeling sick, she said she “put them in meals [she and her children] ate.” Th court also heard how she was drawn to "exotic mushrooms" because they "just taste more interesting... [have] more flavour.

"They tasted good and I didn’t get sick," she said. In April 2023, she bought a food dehydrator to preserve mushrooms beyond the short wild mushroom season.

When asked about the source of the mushrooms used in the meal, she said most were bought from a supermarket in Leongatha, with some purchased months earlier from an Asian grocery store in Melbourne. She couldn’t recall exact purchases but said she often bought varieties like shiitake, porcini, and enoki, as well as mixed wild mushroom blends that didn’t specify exact contents.

These shop-bought mushrooms were often stored together with foraged and dehydrated ones she collected herself. Patterson also spoke about her family dynamics, explaining that after her separation from Simon Patterson in 2015, she remained on good terms with her in-laws Don and Gail, whom she said “never changed” their love for her.

However, from October 2022, her relationship with Simon became strained over financial disputes, leading her to seek mediation involving her in-laws.

The court saw profane Facebook messages Patterson sent to a private group chat, venting frustrations about Simon, Don, and Gail. She described the messages as a way to release stress, likening her audience to a “cheer squad.”

Becoming emotional, she repeatedly emphasised her love for Don and Gail and expressed regret for her harsh words.

The court heard how Patterson falsely told her relatives she had cancer to 'lure' them to the meal. "I didn't want their care of me to stop, so I kept it going. I shouldn't have done it," she said, breaking down. "Did you lie to them?" Mr Mandy asked. "I did lie to them," she admitted.

Patterson told of her deep mistrust of the healthcare system, stemming from medical concerns about her children that were initially dismissed. This mistrust led her to discharge herself from the hospital early after the toxic meal, despite doctors’ advice.

She described suffering from health anxiety, researching symptoms online, which caused her to mistakenly fear she had serious illnesses such as a brain tumour, multiple sclerosis and ovarian cancer.

Although she admitted never being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she claimed a family history of the disease and that she had asked her guests about it during the lunch.

Ms. Patterson is expected to continue her testimony when court resumes on Wednesday.

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