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

Drunk Driver Sentenced for Tragic Crash that Killed Young Girl and Her Dog

Inset left: Jason Zehe (Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office). Inset right: Megan Voss…

Urgent AMBER Alert: Texas Toddler, Age 3, Disappeared in July

Police in San Antonio are searching for a missing 3-year-old who hasn’t…

Kilmar Abrego Garcia returns home temporarily to reunite with family

Left: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen formerly residing in Maryland, was…

Parents of Emmanuel Haro Arrested on Murder Charges as Search for Missing California Baby Proceeds

A California couple is behind bars as the search for missing 7-month-old…

Bungling Arsonist Accidentally Ignites Self During Queensland Tobacco Shop Attack

A clumsy arsonist has accidentally set themself on fire after torching a…

North Carolina Man Accused of Abducting Iowa Teen and Transporting Her to North Carolina

A man accused of taking a missing Iowa teen to North Carolina…

Police Suggest $1.4 Million Bank Card Fraud is Only a Small Part of Larger Scheme

A postal worker and two others have been charged over an alleged…

Prosecution Labels Donna Adelson as the Controlling ‘Mastermind’ in Son-in-law’s Homicide

Open statements in the Donna Adelson murder trial began Friday in Tallahassee.…

Man Kills Ex-Girlfriend’s New Partner After Catching Them in Bed

Background: The neighborhood in Alton, Ill., where Jarred Hayes was killed in…

Repeat Offender Convicted for Murdering Girlfriend and Another Woman

Richard Wendell Sotka (Mississippi County, Arkansas Sheriff’s Dept.) and the residence where…

Prosecutors: Man Abandoned Elderly Mother in Chair for Two Weeks

News footage of Alvin Ray Riggs, left, in court with his lawyer…

Parole Board Rejects Lyle Menendez’s Request for Early Release

A panel of two commissioners denied Menendez parole for three years, after…