The trial of an Australian woman accused of serving her ex-husband’s family poisonous mushrooms began this week, nearly a year after the suspect pleaded not guilty to her charges.

Erin Patterson, 50, was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She was originally charged with two counts of attempted murder, though the charge was dropped earlier this week.

Patterson appeared in the Victoria state Supreme Court on Wednesday, where prosecutor Nanette Rogers told jurors the accused had served a meal of beef Wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans at her home in the rural town of Leongartha on July 29, 2023.

Her guests included her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, both 70; Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66; and Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, 68.

Erin Patterson allegedly invited family members over for lunch, where she served Beef Wellington, though the next day, all four guests were hospitalized for poisoning by death cap mushrooms. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

Still, Patterson’s lawyer, Colin Mandy, told jurors his client never had cancer. He also said guests were poisoned by mushrooms Patterson served, though the poisoning was a “terrible accident.”

Rogers advised the jury that she would not be providing a motive for the poisonings, saying, “You do not have to be satisfied what the motive was, or even that there was a motive.”

Erin Patterson eventually went to the hospital complaining about diarrhea and nausea two days after serving beef Wellington. But at that point, her guests had been diagnosed with suffering from death cap poisoning.

She later told authorities she cooked with a mixture of mushrooms she purchased from a supermarket and dried mushrooms from an Asian food store, denying that she had foraged for wild mushrooms.

But Mandy said his client lied about not foraging for wild mushrooms.

“She did forage for mushrooms,” Mandy told the jury. “Just so that we make that clear. She denies that she ever deliberately sought out death cap mushrooms.”

The trial was adjourned until Thursday and is expected to continue for six weeks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.