The woman who killed three people by poisoning them with mushrooms is declared innocent

An Australian woman suspected of causing the deaths of three people who were served poisonous mushrooms has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Erin Patterson, 49, is facing three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder over the fatal meal of poisonous mushrooms in July last year.

Patterson has repeatedly said she did not intentionally poison her guests and was asked to plead guilty to the charges in court on Tuesday. She said she is innocent.

Patterson hosted a lunch at her home in Leongatha, south-east of Melbourne, on July 29. Guests included her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, along with Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson and Heather's husband Ian. Police have said that Erin Patterson's husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited but failed to attend at the last minute.

A few hours after eating the meal, the four guests became ill with what they initially thought was severe food poisoning. Within days, the Pattersons, both 70, and Mrs Wilkinson, 66, died. Wilkinson, 68, survived after spending almost three months in hospital.

Police believe the four guests ate poisonous mushrooms, which are very deadly if swallowed.

After months of investigation, authorities discovered that Patterson had tried three more times to kill her husband, and in November she was arrested and formally charged with a total of eight crimes. 
Her case will now proceed to the High Court in Melbourne, with her first hearing scheduled for May 23.