By Kristian Silva for ABC News
A courtroom sketch of Erin Patterson as she faces trial for murder and attempted murder. Photo: AFP / PAUL TYQUIN
Death cap mushrooms were reportedly growing near Erin Patterson's town in the months leading up to the fatal July 2023 lunch at her house, the Supreme Court in Australia has been told.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder, with prosecutors alleging the Victorian woman deliberately poisoned four of her relatives with death cap mushrooms in a beef Wellington.
On Tuesday, internationally recognised mushroom expert Tom May took to the witness stand in Patterson's trial.
May said sightings of death cap mushrooms were recorded in the Loch and Outtrim areas, near Patterson's home in Leongatha, in April and May 2023 respectively.
The posts were made on the iNaturalist.org website, where citizen scientists document observations of animals, plants and fungi.
Prosecutors have previously told the court Patterson's phone records suggest she visited Loch on 28 April and Outtrim on 22 May.
The lunch at the centre of the trial took place on 29 July, 2023.
Amanita phalloides, the 'death cap' mushroom that may have been used in the meal. Photo: Archenzo/Wikipedia
May, a mycologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, said death cap mushrooms varied in colour but always grew around oak tree varieties.
May said the species tended to grow around April and May when there was a reasonable amount of soil moisture and rain.
"There are certainly some mushrooms that occur in Victoria that are quite similar (in appearance) to the death cap," he said.
Death cap mushrooms are also known by their scientific name, Amanita phalloides, and were first reported in Australia in the 1960s.
May said they were believed to have been a European species that now grew in places including Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
He said academic researchers had concluded that Amanita phalloides did not grow in China.
Several doctors who have testified in the trial have said Patterson told them mushrooms in the beef Wellington dish were sourced from Woolworths and from an unspecified Chinese or Asian grocer in Melbourne.
The mushrooms were part of the beef Wellington main course served up to Patterson's in-laws Don and Gail, as well as Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian. Medical experts concluded all four suffered from Amanita phalloides poisoning, with Wilkinson the only lunch guest who survived after a long stint in hospital.
Prosecutors allege Patterson's meal and food she served her children the following night was not contaminated.
Doctor says Erin Patterson looked 'very well'
Earlier on Tuesday, several doctors who treated Patterson at the Monash Medical Centre after the lunch said she did not appear to be unwell.
Doctor Laura Muldoon, part of the toxicology department, said Patterson was at hospital after reporting symptoms of nausea and diarrhoea.
"I noted she looked clinically well, she had some chapped lips but otherwise very well. She had normal vital signs," Dr Muldoon said.
Dr Muldoon said there was no evidence Patterson had encountered death cap mushroom poisoning or consumed any other toxins.
Another doctor, Varuna Ruggoo, said Patterson's liver functioning tests returned normal results. Also normal was her respiratory rate, blood pressure and temperature, the doctor testified.
"There was no evidence there was any sort of liver toxicity and she was able to be discharged," Dr Ruggoo said.
"She appeared clinically well, in a normal mood and affect."
The trial continues.
- ABC
