A lady accused of killing her ex-husband’s dad and mom and an aunt by feeding them a beef wellington laced with toxic mushrooms has appeared in court docket.
Erin Patterson made a short look on the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Courtroom by video hyperlink from a jail in Melbourne, Australia, the place she has been held since she was arrested in November final yr.
The 49-year-old mom of two has been charged with three counts of homicide and 5 of tried homicide.
Justice of the Peace Tim Walsh mentioned in the course of the listening to on Monday that he’ll announce on 7 Could whether or not Patterson will face a committal listening to in the identical court docket in Morwell or in Melbourne.
Morwell is a rural city close to Patterson’s residence about 150km (90 miles) east of Melbourne, the Victoria state capital.
The committal listening to will decide whether or not prosecutors have ample proof to place prices earlier than a jury in a trial on the Supreme Courtroom of Victoria.
It was Patterson’s second court docket look on the fees.
She has but to enter any pleas and has not utilized to be launched on bail.
Patterson is accused of killing her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, each 70, and Gail Patterson’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.
All three died in hospital days after consuming a meal at Patterson’s residence in Leongatha in Victoria in July final yr.
She can also be accused of the tried homicide of Ms Wilkinson’s husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68.
Reverend Wilkinson spent seven weeks in hospital following the lunch.
Police mentioned the signs of all 4 of those that grew to become ailing have been in step with poisoning from wild Amanita phalloides, often known as dying cap mushrooms – that are chargeable for 90% of all poisonous mushroom-related fatalities.
Patterson is additional accused of the tried homicide of her ex-husband, Simon Patterson, at that lunch and on three earlier events relationship again to 2021.
He had not accepted an invite to the lunch.
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In court docket Walsh requested if Patterson may hear on the outset of the listening to, and he or she replied: “Sure, thanks.”
Her lawyer, Colin Mandy, mentioned his shopper needed the committal listening to held in Morwell, even when that meant a delay till subsequent yr.
“If it occurs subsequent yr, then Ms Patterson’s content material to attend for that,” Mr Mandy informed the Justice of the Peace.
He added Patterson mentioned she needed the listening to to happen near her residence.
Defence legal professionals have supplied prosecutors with a listing of anticipated witnesses to be referred to as on the committal.
Mr Mandy mentioned he anticipated the listening to would final three weeks.
The potential most sentence in Victoria for homicide is life imprisonment, and for tried homicide is 25 years in jail.