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.
Lawsuit alleges decades of child sex abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers statewide
Can homeless people be fined for sleeping outside? A rural Oregon city asks the US Supreme Court
Can homeless people be fined for sleeping outside? A rural Oregon city asks the US Supreme Court
Police respond to shooting on university campus in Las Vegas, suspect dead
DJ Chark Jr. signs with the Los Angeles Chargers
WHO chief warns no functional hospital exists in north Gaza
Indian gov't orders probe in parliament security breach incident
Nigerian journalist's arrest last week triggers criticism of worsening press freedoms
China pilots foreign equity limit removal in value
After AP's missing students investigation, children return to school
Supreme Court of U.S. Michigan keeps Trump on 2024 primary ballot