Mushroom Lunch Kills Three; Survivor Testifies
Ian Wilkinson, the sole surviving guest at a fatal lunch party, testified about the meal, which included a beef wellington containing death cap mushrooms. He and his wife, Heather, along with two other guests, became severely ill after consuming the meal, resulting in Heather’s and the others’ deaths. Wilkinson described the host, Erin Patterson, as a friendly acquaintance and recounted her subsequent announcement of a cancer diagnosis, which he now believes was a pretext. The trial hinges on whether Patterson intentionally poisoned her guests or if it was an accident, with the defense claiming unintentional poisoning and subsequent panic.
John Q. Hosedrinker