By Alasdair Pal

SYDNEY (Reuters) -An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband’s elderly relatives with poisonous mushrooms gave her account of the fatal lunch on Wednesday, 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 135 km (84 miles) from Melbourne.

She denies the charges, with her defence saying the deaths were a “terrible accident”. She faces a life sentence if found gu

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