Police in Australia have arrested two people after an alleged burglary at the home of a woman accused of murdering three people with poisonous mushrooms.
Erin Patterson, 49, is currently in custody on three counts of murder after allegedly using death cap mushrooms in a beef wellington meal at her home in Leongatha in the southeastern state of Victoria in July. She is also facing five further counts of attempted murder.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), someone claiming to be a friend of Patterson’s asked for help online after the home was burglarized. “We have had a friend’s house broken into in Leongatha 3 times over the last month or so,” the person wrote, claiming that multiple items had been stolen including televisions, vacuum cleaners, and a car.
The post also reportedly featured images of a man wearing a face covering while standing on what appeared to be the deck of Patterson’s home. On Thursday, Victoria Police confirmed that an 18-year-old man and a woman, 23, were arrested in connection with a burglary in Leongatha on Christmas Eve.
A spokesperson told the ABC that a red car had been taken during the burglary and that the man and woman were arrested in the allegedly stolen vehicle early Thursday. They are expected to be charged at a later date.
Patterson was arrested in November and charged over the deaths of her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail’s sister, 66-year-old Heather Wilkinson. Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, 68, also became critically ill after dining with the group but ultimately survived.
Simon Patterson, Erin’s ex-husband, had been invited to the meal but he canceled at the last minute. Police claim Erin Patterson tried to murder him on four separate occasions. She has denied all wrongdoing.