Erin Patterson is appealing her guilty verdict after being convicted of killing three of her estranged husband's relatives with a poisonous beef Wellington. The appeal, lodged by her defence lawyers, argues that her trial was 'unfair'.
Appeal grounds
Patterson's legal team is focusing on several arguments. They claim a 'catastrophic' mistake occurred when the jury, prosecutors, witnesses, and some journalists stayed at the same hotel during the trial. They also argue that key evidence that could have exonerated Patterson was 'wrongfully excluded', prompting her to testify when she might not have otherwise. This evidence included photos from 2020 showing Patterson's interest in foraging mushrooms, which a judge ruled inadmissible.
It was not disputed that Patterson served the mushrooms or that the pastries killed her guests. The jury had to decide if she knew the lunch contained death caps and if she intended for them to die. Patterson's team hopes to overturn her conviction.
The crime
Prosecutors said Patterson foraged poisonous death cap mushrooms, dehydrated them, and used them in the mushroom duxelle between the beef and pastry. She denied the charges, with her defence calling the poisonings a 'terrible accident'. The court heard she cooked individual beef Wellingtons instead of a single large dish, claiming she couldn't source a single 'log' of fillet, while prosecutors argued it was a deliberate ploy to control who ate what.
Heather Wilkinson noticed Patterson eating from a 'noticeably different' plate and relayed her concern to Patterson's estranged husband after falling unwell. Patterson allegedly lied that the food also made her sick to avoid suspicion. She went to the hospital the day after her guests were admitted, said she felt unwell, but discharged herself without treatment. She told health authorities she used dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer. A week after the meal, she dumped a food dehydrator allegedly used to dry the death caps, admitting the act but claiming she 'panicked' after her estranged husband accused her of using it to poison his parents.
