Author Topic: Aussie mushroom murders remind one of SA cop that killed family for insurance  (Read 54 times)

Offline Nefertiti

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Scorned  Aussie woman used belladona to murder in-laws.


Erin Patterson found guilty of murdering relatives with toxic mushroom lunch
7 July 2025



https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cm26eq093myt

Quote
Summary
• Erin Patterson is found guilty of murdering three relatives, and attempting to murder another, at a family lunch in 2023

• The 50-year-old cooked and served beef Wellington at her home in Leongatha, Victoria - it was later found to contain death cap mushrooms

• Patterson's in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, died within days - this graphic shows who else attended the meal

• Since the verdict came in, our reporter in Australia has been sifting through evidence the jury was shown, including CCTV of Patterson discharging herself from hospital and images of Wellington leftovers

• During the trial, the prosecution argued Patterson knowingly put the toxic mushrooms in the home-cooked lunch and disposed of evidence - they also acknowledged she had no clear motive

• Patterson's defence was that she accidentally included the poisonous fungi - here's what else she said on the stand
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Offline Nefertiti

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"Rogue" policewoman accused of murdering 6 people for insurance payouts in South Africa
October 11, 2024 / 8:34 AM EDT / CBS/AFP


STONE COLD: Sergeant Rachel Kutumela testifying in the Limpopo Magistrate's Court during her trial for murder

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/policewoman-rachel-kutumela-accused-murders-south-africa/
♫♫ I'm Yours
You're mine
Like Paradise  ~ song by Sade