It's the story that's not only gripped Australia but the world. Mushroom Cook Erin Patterson has been charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
Patterson, 49, was charged on Thursday and remanded in custody overnight and is due to appear in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court at Morwell on Friday morning.
Interestingly, the three attempted murder charges relate to separate meals Patterson allegedly prepared in 2021 and 2022, which the ABC reports made a 48-year-old man ill.
The ABC report the man to be Simon Patterson, Erin's estranged husband.
The 49-year-old has always maintained she did not intentionally poison her guests and denied any wrongdoing.
In July, Don and Gail Patterson, Erin's former parents-in-law, and Heather Wilkinson became sick and died after attending a lunch of beef wellington pie, cooked by Erin in the rural Victoria town.
A fourth man, Wilkinson's husband Ian, was hospitalised in a critical condition. He was later released from the hospital in September.
Sunrise reporter Nathan Currie joined AM on Friday following the arrest and charges laid on Thursday. Currie told AM it's been an "absolutely incredible 24 hours".
"Such a big day yesterday, she was arrested in the morning, police then searched the inside and outside of her property with sniffer dogs that are specially trained to search for mobile phones, USB sticks and hard drives."
Currie told AM once the search wrapped up police formally questioned Patterson.
He said "there is a lot to learn" but said much of the detail is unlikely to surface on Friday with the legal proceedings expected to be lengthy.
"As police said yesterday, they can't remember a case ever sparking this much media attention, not just here in Victoria, but around the world."
On Thursday, detectives were seen walking in and out of the garage and leading dogs to and from the property, Australian media reported. Erin's red car was also searched several times.
The ABC reports Patterson faced a brief court hearing on Friday morning.
In a post to X, a 7News reporter said the 49-year-old looked around the courtroom as she walked in and entered the dock.
The case has been adjourned until May 3 next year, after prosecutors indicated they would need a lengthy adjournment to analyse computer equipment seized from her property on Thursday.
