An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with poisonous mushrooms gave her account of the fatal lunch in a case that has gripped the public.
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.
The prosecution alleges she knowingly served the guests lethal death cap mushrooms in a beef wellington at her home in Leongatha, a town of around 6,000 people some 135km from Melbourne.
She denies the charges, with her defence saying the deaths were a "terrible accident". She faces a life sentence if found guilty.
The accused, the first witness for her own defence and who began her evidence on Monday afternoon, repeatedly wept as she told the court she may have accidentally included foraged mushrooms into the food she served.
She said she decided to improve the beef-and-pastry dish with dried mushrooms after deciding it tasted a "little bland".
While she initially believed a kitchen container held store-bought mushrooms, she said it may have been mixed with foraged fungi.
"I decided to put in the dried mushrooms I brought from the grocer," she told the court.
"Now I think that there was a possibility that there were foraged ones in there as well."
Ms Patterson earlier told the court how she had started foraging for mushrooms during a Covid lockdown in 2020.
She also told the court that she had misled her guests about the purpose of the family meal.
While they ate, Ms Patterson revealed she might be receiving treatment for cancer in the coming weeks. But this was a lie, Ms Patterson said.
'I shouldn't have lied'
"I was planning to have gastric bypass surgery, so I remember thinking I didn't want to tell anybody what I was going to have done.
"I was really embarrassed about it.
"So letting them believe I had some serious issue that needed treatment might mean they could help me with the logistics around the kids," she told the court.
"I shouldn't have lied to them," she added.
The court also heard that Ms Patterson had invented medical issues partly to elicit sympathy from her estranged husband's relatives, from whom she said she felt she was growing apart.
"I didn't want their care of me to stop, so I kept it going. I shouldn't have done it," she told the court.
"Did you lie to them?" Mandy asked. "I did lie to them," the accused replied, through tears.
The prosecution alleges Ms Patterson invented the medical issues to lure the victims to her home for the meal, a claim she denies.
The prosecution rested its case on Monday, following a month of evidence from witnesses, including relatives and medical, forensic and mushroom experts.
The trial, which began on 29 April, has seen intense interest from Australian and international media, with podcasters, journalists and documentary-makers descending on the town of Morwell, around two hours east of Melbourne, where the trial is being held.
Australian state broadcaster ABC's daily podcast about proceedings is currently the most popular in the country, while many Australian newspapers have been running live blogs on the case.
The trial, scheduled to conclude this month, continues.
