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Woman found guilty in mushroom murder mystery that left three family members dead after meal

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A woman who poisoned four family members, killing three of them, is facing life in prison after a jury found her guilty of murder-by-mushrooms. 

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Erin Patterson invited her estranged husband’s mother, father, aunt and uncle to lunch at her home in the southern state of Victoria in Australia in July 2023 and served them beef Wellington made with death cap mushrooms. 

Patterson, aged 50, told police she must have included the deadly fungi in her recipe by accident. But the trial proved she had lied and tried to hide evidence of her culinary crime by disposing of incriminating evidence. 

During the 10-week trial, which dominated headlines Down Under, the jury heard how Patterson had invited the family for lunch under the pretext of revealing a cancer diagnosis. 

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WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FDA’S PARALYTIC SHELLFISH POISONING WARNING

This picture taken on May 12, 2025, shows Erin Patterson arriving in the back of a prison transport vehicle at Latrobe Valley Magistrate’s Court in Morwell, Australia. An Australian woman murdered her husband’s parents and aunt by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with toxic mushrooms, a jury found on July 7 at the climax of a trial watched around the world. Keen home cook Erin Patterson hosted an intimate meal in July 2023 that started with good-natured banter and earnest prayer but ended with three guests dead. (Photo by Martin Keep/AFP via Getty Images)

Estranged husband Simon decided at the last minute not to attend, and Patterson was originally also accused of his attempted murder, although she never faced those charges in court. 

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Google searches for beef Wellington recipes have soared in Australia over the last few months, as the trial captivated the country. 

During Patterson’s trial, the jury saw pictures of the leftover beef Wellington and heard how family members had gotten sick and gone to the local hospital, where mushroom poisoning was quickly diagnosed. 

They also heard from the sole survivor, her estranged husband’s uncle Ian Wilkinson, who testified that Erin had served them beef Wellington with green beans and mashed potatoes in individual portions, but served herself on a different plate. 

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Beef Wellington

Erin Patterson allegedly invited family members over for lunch, where she served beef Wellington. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

No traces of the deadly mushrooms were found in her system, and she told police that she was bulimic and had vomited after eating the food. 

A doctor who treated the poisoning victims says he had taken one look at her and known something was wrong. 

In an interview with Australia’s ABC News, Doctor Chris Webster said he had asked Erin Patterson where she had gotten the mushrooms. 

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COUPLE CHARGED IN ALLEGED CYANIDE PLOT TO KILL EX-GIRLFRIENDS; AGENTS HOSPITALIZED DURING SEARCH

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Erin Patterson was accused of using death cap mushrooms in the beef Wellington dish that she had served.  (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

«When she didn’t respond in a way that instantly would have explained it as a tragic accident, that’s it, from that moment in my mind, she was guilty,» he said. 

«She was evil and very smart to have planned it all and carried it out, but didn’t quite dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t.’»

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Although prosecutors couldn’t find a specific motive for the murders, Australian media outlets have reported that Erin, who had worked as an accountant and also an air traffic controller, had resented her ex-husband, Simon, for not doing his share of household chores. In messages to online friends, the triple-murderer said she had had to hire a cleaner because of Simon’s refusal to help out around the house. The couple have two children together. 

Prosecutors untangled her web of lies about the poisonings, including her claims that she had never been foraging for mushrooms, and that she didn’t own a food dehydrator. The kitchen appliance was later found at a nearby landfill site, where Erin had taken it to try and dispose of evidence. Police found death cap mushroom residue inside. 

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Patterson’s legal team has 28 days to appeal the conviction. If there is no appeal, she will likely be sentenced in August and faces life behind bars. 


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Nancy Pelosi says sex changes for trans kids is something she’s working for ‘at the national level’

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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that sex changes for transgender children is something she’s working for «at the national level.»

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Earlier in the day, Pelosi toured the San Francisco VA Medical Center to review health-system upgrades, research initiatives and—according to a press release from her staff—the threat that House Republicans might slash core veterans’ services.

While speaking with reporters, she was asked how her office was responding to pauses to «gender-affirming care» in California.

«That is something I’m working for at the national level, and we are hoping we can have gender-affirming care for our trans kids,» Pelosi said. «It’s a sad thing for us… I don’t know what effect we can have nationally with what we have going on in the White House and in Congress.»

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DEMOCRATIC STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER ENDING SEX CHANGE SURGERIES FOR MINORS

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told a reporter on Aug. 7, 2025, that she was working at the national level to get sex changes for transgender children. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

She called the situation «really sad, adding that a transgender-pride flag—five horizontal stripes of light blue, pink and white—hangs outside her office. Pelosi also said several colleagues display the same flag.

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She acknowledged that many Republicans on Capitol Hill oppose medical transition for transgender youth.

Still, she is not alone in her stance on sex changes for kids.

CHILDREN’S NATIONAL HOSPITAL IN DC TO END GENDER TRANSITION MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS

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Pro-trans protesters in front of Supreme Court

FILE – Protesters for and against sex changes for transgender minors demonstrate outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Earlier this month, over a dozen officials from Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from blocking access to sex change procedures and treatments for people under the age of 19.

The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that the Trump administration wants to impose a nationwide ban on sex change procedures by threatening providers with «baseless criminal charges» and investigations.

The lawsuit names President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department as defendants. It challenges Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order barring government support for sex change operations and treatments and two memos by Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate. 

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Pelosi’s office told Fox News Digital the Democrat was referring to this lawsuit when she spoke about supporting sex changes for children.

TRUMP’S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TARGETS DOCTORS, CLINICS WHO PROVIDE SEX CHANGE PROCEDURES TO MINORS

Transgender flag in Washington, D.C.

A protester waves a transgender pride flag outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Bondi’s memo directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute those who offer sex-change treatments to minors. Shumate’s memo directs prosecutors to prioritize investigations against doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that perform such procedures. 

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In July, Kaiser Permanente announced that it would pause sex change surgeries for patients under 19 beginning Aug. 29 in response to the Trump administration’s efforts on the matter. The same month, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shuttered its Center for Trans Youth Health and Development, one of the nation’s largest clinics for transgender young people.

The Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., also announced that it will no longer provide gender transition-related medical interventions. 

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Many states have laws restricting or banning sex change surgeries for children. The states named in the lawsuit – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin. – allow such procedures.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

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Israel Security Cabinet approves plan to occupy Gaza City

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Israel’s Security Cabinet early Friday approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, marking an escalation in Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.

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The announcement comes after an all-night meeting of the security cabinet, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel planned to retake control over the entire territory and eventually hand it off to friendly Arab forces opposed to Hamas. 

Israel’s Security Cabinet early Friday approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, marking an escalation in the nearly two-year war between Israel and Hamas. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Israel has bombarded Gaza City repeatedly since Oct. 7, 2023 in addition to carrying out numerous raids. Today, it is one of the few areas of Gaza that hasn’t been turned into an Israeli buffer zone or placed under evacuation orders.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 



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Fuertes críticas y abucheos al presidente Arce y su vice en el Congreso en el acto por el Bicentenario en Bolivia

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A poco más de una semana para las elecciones nacionales con dos candidatos de derecha como favoritos, los legisladores bolivianos abuchearon al vicepresidente y criticaron a los gritos la política económica del presidente Luis Arce, quien en los actos por el Bicentenario hizo un discurso de autoelogio y sin autocríticas en medio de una crisis nacional que paraliza a Bolivia.

El vicepresidente de Bolivia, David Choquehuanca, desató una nueva polémica en medio del clima electoral rumbo a los comicios del 17 de agosto, tras afirmar en su mensaje por los 200 años de la fundación política del país que en el Altiplano “persiste el caudillismo”, lo que alimenta el autoritarismo de los líderes partidarios y el fanatismo de sus seguidores.

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“¡Ya se van, ya se van!”, le gritaron en su réplica a Choquehuanca desde los palcos en medio de su discurso en el que también habló de manipulación electoral.

Las elecciones se presentan muy desfavorables para el oficialismo ya que ninguno de los tres candidatos cercanos a sus filas figuran con posibilidades de pasar a la segunda vuelta. Al contrario, el empresario de derecha Samuel Doria Median lidera todos los sondeos (entre 20 y 22% de votos) seguido de cerca por el ex presidente conservador, Jorge Tuto Quiroga. Los otros postulantes se hallan muy lejos por debajo del 10%.

Durante la sesión de honor de la Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional en la Casa de la Libertad de Sucre, Choquehuanca —que concluirá su mandato el 8 de noviembre junto al presidente s Arce— sostuvo que el Estado Plurinacional representa un sistema nuevo de autogobierno, pero reconoció que aún enfrenta serias limitaciones en un escenario político complejo y polarizado.

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“Estamos en un escenario preelectoral donde se fabrican encuestas y se manipulan datos de la realidad, mientras el pueblo queda fracturado sin haber elegido”, denunció. Choquehuanca insistió en que el país necesita unidad, acuerdos y comprensión de los errores. “Para unos, la solución será seguir peleando; otros elegirán la fuga ante promesas incumplidas”, reflexionó, en lo que varios analistas interpretan como una crítica velada a las fracturas internas del Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS), partido al que pertenece y que está en el poder desde hace 20 años.

El discurso de Choquehuanca se suma a la controversia generada por la intervención del presidente Arce, quien también fue cuestionado por evitar la autocrítica y centrarse solo en la defensa del llamado “proceso de cambio” y sus 20 años de reformas, como la nacionalización de los hidrocarburos o la industrialización con sustitución de importaciones. Sin embargo, para los economistas Gonzalo Chávez y Armando Ortuño, el mandatario desaprovechó una ocasión histórica para hablarle al país con visión de futuro, reconocer la crisis y llamar a la unidad nacional.

“Fue un discurso para la autocomplacencia. Un narcisismo macroeconómico que no abordó lo más grave: filas por pan, gasolina, dólares y empleos. No fue el discurso de los 200 años, fue el de los 20 años del populismo”, opinó Chávez durante un análisis televisivo posterior al mensaje.

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Ambos economistas cuestionaron duramente la falta de autocrítica del presidente y su insistencia en atribuir los problemas económicos a factores externos. “El presidente vive en una burbuja ideológica. No reconoce el colapso del sector hidrocarburos, la caída en educación, ni el déficit fiscal crónico. Bolivia dejó de ser una potencia gasífera y ahora importa energía. Esa realidad quedó ausente”, añadió el economista paceño.

Por su parte, Ortuño lamentó la ausencia de un mensaje que inspire unidad y rescate los logros colectivos del país en dos siglos de historia. “Era una oportunidad para mirar al país como un proyecto común, hablar de nuestras potencialidades, no solo de las fracturas. No se trataba de defender un modelo, sino de construir un relato que incluya a todos”, reflexionó.

Ambos coincidieron en que, frente a una economía con serios desequilibrios fiscales, cambiarios y de abastecimiento, el presidente optó por minimizar los problemas. “Dijo que la escasez de combustibles es coyuntural, cuando en realidad refleja problemas estructurales acumulados. El próximo gobierno, sea cual sea, tendrá que enfrentarlos”, advirtió Ortuño.

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Finalmente, los dos economistas lamentaron que en un momento simbólico como los 200 años de la independencia, el mensaje presidencial haya priorizado una visión polarizante de la historia construida sobre confrontaciones y no sobre acuerdos.

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