An Australian woman woke up this morning to find out she'd been hit with a triple murder charge pursuant to a deadly meal she reportedly served earlier this year:
Australian police have brought murder charges against a woman who served a lunch earlier this year that led to the deaths of three people from suspected death cap mushroom poisoning.
Victoria Police confirmed a 49-year-old woman was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder after being arrested in connection with the case Thursday morning.
The woman, identified as 49-year-old Erin Patterson, allegedly "served a beef wellington meal in late July to her former parents-in-law and her mother-in-law's sister and husband."
A few days later, her former in-laws and her former mother-in-law's sister were all dead, while a fourth diner reportedly needed a liver transplant.
Patterson denied having intentionally poisoned anyone, claiming that she was "devastated to think that these mushrooms may have contributed to the illness suffered by my loved ones."
Police, meanwhile, pointed out that she was the only one at the meal who didn't get sick.
According to Wikipedia, the mushroom "is highly toxic, and is responsible for the majority of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide," and its effects sound rather brutal:
Symptoms of ingestion of the death cap mushroom may include nausea and vomiting, which is then followed by jaundice, seizures, and coma which will lead to death. The mortality rate of ingestion of the death cap mushroom is believed to be around 10 - 30%
Police, meanwhile, said Patterson's arrest was the "next step" in a long investigation.
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