Mushroom cook ate lunch leftovers with kids: daughter
Share this @internewscast.com

A search of devices found at Erin Patterson’s home reveals a visit to a science website showing the location of death cap mushrooms about a year before serving up a poisoned beef Wellington, a jury has been told.

Patterson, 50, wore a black-and-white striped top and glasses today as she faced the fourth week of a triple murder trial in regional Victoria accused of deliberately poisoning her former in-laws.

She has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder over the deaths of Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Heather Wilkinson, 66, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson who survived the July 2023 lunch.

A courtroom sketch of Erin Patterson.
A courtroom sketch of Erin Patterson. (Paul Tyquin)

Patterson claims she did not intentionally poison her lunch guests and it was a terrible accident.

Victoria Police digital forensics officer Shamen Fox-Henry gave evidence today about examinations he did of devices seized from Erin Patterson’s home by police on August 5, 2023.

He said he applied keyword searches to the seized devices for terms including “death cap, death cap mushrooms, mushrooms and poison”.

Analysis of a Cooler Master computer taken by police, which had three storage devices inside it, revealed that on May 28, 2022, the iNaturalist science website was searched for via web browser Bing, he said.

The iNaturalist website was also accessed, about 7.22pm, and “observations” were visited, the jury was told.

Then at 7.23pm “death cap from Melbourne VIC Australia on May 18 2022” on the iNaturalist website was visited on the device.

It further detailed it was at “Bricker Reserve, Moorabbin” and the post was by Ivan Margitta, with two visits to the web page.

“That URL was visited twice in that browser,” Fox-Henry told the jury, who were shown records of the website visits.

The device then used Google to search “Korumburra middle pub” at 7.23pm.

The trial before Justice Christopher Beale continues.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Ten Masked Intruders Armed with Machetes Disrupt Party

A teenage boy was allegedly slashed with a machete after ten people…

Gainesville Resident Accused of Assaulting 14-Year-Old Runaway

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 26-year-old named McNish Mathis Tuzon Hampton…

Deputies Report Woman Accused of Killing Roommate and Attempting to Poison Neighbors

Context: Kore Bommeli Adams in a court appearance in Dane County, Wisconsin…

Elderly Florida Woman, 80, Accused of Slapping Fellow Driver

Inset: Linda Frenier (Orange County Jail). Background: A Walmart in Apopka, Fla.…

Mother Sentenced to 20 Years for Mistreating Her Toddlers

Samantha Woods (Jackson County Sheriff”s Office). An Alabama woman will spend just…

Woman Assaulted with Rock and Screwdriver and Raped, Says DA

Inset: Daysnel Hernandez (Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area near the underpass…

Philadelphia Bar Shooting: 2 Critically Injured, 6 Others Hurt

Eight people were injured during a mass shooting at a bar in…

Diddy Faced a Different Controversy Long Before His Sex Trafficking Trial

On the day Sean “Diddy” Combs was convicted on charges of transportation…

Alachua Resident Charged with Sexual Assault on Homeless Woman

Staff report ALACHUA, Fla. – Taverous Tywon Lorenza Williams, aged 47, residing…

Judge Delivers Sentence for Man Who Used Extension Cord to Discipline Stepchildren

Lerenzo Legardy (Dona Ana County Jail). A man from New Mexico, who…

Police: Woman Used Insect Foggers to Remove Family from Apartment

Ervyana Davis (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department via WZTV). A Tennessee woman is…