Mushroom triple murder trial told that accused's exhusband was 'controlling'

A child protection worker in the Erin Patterson trial told the court that the accused described her relationship with her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, as “controlling” and “emotionally abusive”.

- MAROOSHA MUZAFFAR

Katrina Cripps told the court that Ms Patterson believed the issue of child support payments with her estranged husband had caused strain in her relationship with him. “She felt like that’s the time he had become nasty towards her,” the witness testified yesterday.

Ms Patterson is on trial for serving a meal laced with deadly mushrooms that killed three relatives of her former husband and left another, Ian Wilkinson, critically ill. Ms Patterson denies the murder and attempted murder charges, with her defence saying the deaths were a “terrible accident”.