Australia prepares for verdict in mushroom murder trial

Defence team members of Erin Patterson, an Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms, barrister Sophie Stafford and barrister Colin Mandy SC arrive at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, Australia, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake



MORWELL, Australia (Reuters) -The trial of an Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives using toxic mushrooms entered its final stages on Wednesday, with the jury soon to begin its deliberations in a case that has gripped the nation.

Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the 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, in July 2023.