April 30 (UPI) -- An Australian woman accused of killing three members of her family after serving a toxic wild mushroom meal said in court Wednesday it was a "terrible accident."
The trial for Erin Patterson began in Morwell in the province of Victoria in southeast Australia, with her defense claiming she did not intentionally plan to serve the poisonous lunch to beloved family members but "panicked" after.
"The overarching issue is whether she intended to kill or cause very serious injury," stated Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale.
Patterson, 50, was charged with the murder of three extended family members and attempted murder of another after she allegedly served a poisonous beef wellington lunch on July 29, 2023 at her home.
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"The defense case is that she panicked because she was overwhelmed by the fact that these four people had become so ill because of the food she had served them," her defense attorney Colin Mandy said Wednesday in court. "Three people died."
She pleaded not guilty last year in May after she was charged in November 2023 with three murder counts and five counts of attempted murder.
The mother of two was accused of killing Gail and Don Patterson, the 70-year-old parents of her ex-husband, Simon Patterson, and his 66-year-old aunt Heather Wilkinson, when she fed them a meal made with poisonous mushrooms.
Wilkinson's husband, the Rev. Ian Wilkinson, also was poisoned and later required a liver transplant.
Crown prosecutors alleged that she intended to kill her then-estranged husband, who was not at the lunch in question and he further claimed he nearly died from stomach issues in 2022.
Meanwhile, Erin Patterson and her two children did not suffer serious illness after the meal and she refused medical treatment.
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers said during the trial's opening that the case was originally thought to be "a mass food poisoning event," alleging Patterson "deliberately poisoned" her family "with murderous intent" after she had invited them on the pretense Patterson had been diagnosed with cancer.
There were questions surrounding her motive.
"She didn't intend to cause anyone any harm on that day," Mandy claimed. "What happened was a tragedy, a terrible accident," he continued.
However, Rogers countered saying by telling the jury they "do not have to be satisfied what the motive was, or even that there was one."
The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.
