An Australian woman told police she “loved” members of her husband’s family she was later accused of killing with poison mushrooms, a court heard Tuesday.
Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering the parents and aunt of her estranged husband in 2023 by serving them a beef Wellington laced with lethal “death cap” mushrooms.
She is also accused of attempting to murder her husband’s uncle, who survived the meal after a long stay in hospital.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges in a trial that has captivated the country.
Jurors on Tuesday hear an interview police recorded with Patterson in the days following the lunch.
In the 21-minute video, a police officer asked Patterson to describe her relationship with the guests.
Patterson said she “loved” her parents-in-law.
“I’ve got no other family. They’ve always been good to me and I want to maintain those relationships,” she said.
“They are the only family I’ve got and they are the only grandparents that my children have and I want them to stay in my kids’ lives and that is really important to me.”
Patterson was estranged from her husband Simon, who turned down an invitation to the July 2023 lunch.
His parents, Don and Gail, died days after eating the beef-and-pastry dish.
Simon’s aunt Heather Wilkinson also died, while her husband Ian fell seriously ill but later recovered.
Patterson told police that she had never “been in a situation like this before”.
“I have been very, very helpful with the health department through the week because I wanted to help that side,” she said in the video.
“I do want to know what happened. So I have given them as much information as they have asked for.”
This included information about the meal, where police could find leftovers and where she had bought the ingredients.
In the video, police also outlined items they seized at Patterson’s home during their search.
This included several mobile phones, computers, a cookbook that contained the beef Wellington recipe and a fruit platter one of the lunch guests brought.
The video was recorded several months before Patterson was arrested and charged with murder.
The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her guests and took care that she did not consume the deadly mushrooms herself.
Her defence says it was “a terrible accident” and that Patterson ate the same meal as the others but did not fall as sick.
The trial is expected to last another week.