Alleged Australian mushroom murderer faked cancer diagnosis to lure victims, prosecutors claim


A court sketch shows Erin Patterson at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell, Australia, April 29, 2025. AAP/via REUTERS

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives by poisoning their food, faked a cancer diagnosis to lure the victims to a meal, prosecutors claimed on Wednesday, in a case that has gripped the country.

Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the July 2023 murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband.

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