Pleas entered by accused mushroom cook killer

Accused mushroom cook killer Erin Patterson pleaded not guilty to three murder and five attempted murder charges on May 7.

The case is now headed for a directions hearing at the Victoria Supreme Court in Melbourne on May 23.

Magistrate Tim Walsh provided additional details on three attempted murder charges against Ms Patterson in the May 7 hearing.

She allegedly attempted to kill her estranged husband three times before the ill-fated lunch with his family on July 29, 2023 that ended in three deaths.

Magistrate Walsh told the court that Ms Patterson was accused of attempting to kill Mr Patterson between November 16-17, 2021 in the Gippsland town of Korumburra.

She was also accused of attempting to kill him in Howqua, a heavily forested historic area north east of Melbourne, between May 25-27, 2022.

On September 6, 2022, Ms Patterson also allegedly attempted to kill Mr Patterson in Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Ms Patterson had been held on remand for 187 days when she fronted the court on May 7.

She has maintained her innocence throughout the investigation but was arrested on November 2, 2023 and charged with the offences.

Simon Patterson's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, attended the July 29 lunch with Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson.

Within a week, three of the four older family members had died in hospital from suspected death cap mushroom poisonings after allegedly eating a toxic beef Wellington at Ms Patterson's home.

Reverend Wilkinson survived the lunch after a successful liver transplant and was released from hospital on September 23, 2023.

Ms Patterson returns to Victoria's Supreme Court on May 23.