MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A woman accused of serving her ex-husband’s family poisonous mushrooms pleaded not guilty in an Australian court on Tuesday to three charges of murder and five charges of attempted murder.
Erin Patterson, 49, appeared briefly in Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court by video link from a Melbourne prison, where she has been held since her arrest in November last year. She is accused of killing her former parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.
All three died in a hospital days after consuming a meal at Patterson’s home in July.
She pleaded not guilty to all charges and will appear at Victoria state’s Supreme Court in Melbourne for the first time on May 23.
Proceedings have been fast-tracked after Patterson dispensed with a committal hearing where a magistrate would have examined the prosecution’s case to ensure there is sufficient evidence to warrant a jury trial.
Togo's presidents signs a law expected to extend his decades
Could the genocide case against Israel at the UN's top court have an impact on the war in Gaza?
Australian town of Marble Bar clocks 26 consecutive days over 43 degrees Celsius
Baby Ru: Police contact whānau after three months of silence
Cyberstuck! Tesla's 'apocalypse
Ukraine aid worker Chris Parry died unlawfully alongside Andrew Bagshaw, inquest hears
Government mulls expanding inquiry into Covid
Spurs' Victor Wembanyama named NBA Rookie of the Year
Nine apologises for using digitally altered image of Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell