Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with three murders — of the parents and aunt of her estranged husband. She is also charged with one attempted murder. Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all counts, with her defense saying the fatal beef-and-pastry meal, laced with death cap mushrooms, was the result of "a terrible accident."

The trial of a woman accused of murdering three elderly people after allegedly serving them a lunch of poisonous mushrooms began in Australia on Tuesday, as additional charges of the attempted murder of her husband were dropped by prosecutors.