Sweet-smelling fungi used by Aussie woman to murder 3 relatives

An innocuous-looking mushroom with a sweet smell and a sinister name lay at the centre of Australian Erin Patterson's triple murder conviction on July 7.

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SYDNEY —

Patterson was found guilty of killing her husband's parents and aunt in 2023, and attempting to kill a fourth guest, by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with highly toxic death cap mushrooms.

The 50-year-old denied the accusations, saying the hearty meal was contaminated by accident.

Throughout a headline-grabbing trial spanning more than two months, experts have dissected the brown-and-white fungi in forensic detail.

Death caps — or Amanita phalloides — are responsible for around 90 per cent of all fungus-related fatalities, making them the deadliest mushrooms in the world.