SYDNEY: An Australian woman accused of murdering three lunch guests with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington denied Thursday that she intended to kill them.

Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering her estranged husband’s parents and aunt in July 2023 by spiking the beef-and-pastry dish with death cap mushrooms.

She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest — her husband’s uncle — who survived the lunch after a long stay in hospital.

Patterson denies all charges in the trial, which has grabbed worldwide attention.

She says the traditional English dish, which she cooked in individually sized portions, was poisoned by accident.

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers concluded her cross-examination of Patterson on Thursday by suggesting she deliberately sought death cap mushrooms and put them in the beef Wellington.

Patterson rejected each accusation.

Rogers put it to Patterson that she intended to kill her lunch guests.

Patterson replied: “Disagree.”

The court also heard about two mobile devices used by Patterson — phone A, which was the main device she used, and phone B, which was activated days after the lunch.

Patterson said she began using phone B when her main phone was damaged.

Rogers alleged the main phone had been used to view online posts about death cap mushroom sightings near Patterson’s home in the months before the fatal lunch.

Patterson disagreed.

While police were searching Patterson’s home on August 5, 2023, her main phone lost connection to the network. Police have not located the device since.

Instead, Patterson handed over phone B to authorities.

That device underwent a factory reset three times in the days after the lunch, Rogers said.

The prosecutor alleged that the resets were done “to conceal the true contents of phone B” and that Patterson had hidden her original phone from police because “the data on that device would incriminate you.”

Patterson disagreed with both statements.

She has previously said phone B belonged to her son and she conducted the resets to remove his data so she could use the device.

The lunch host originally invited her estranged husband Simon to join the family meal at her secluded home in the Victoria state farm village of Leongatha.

But Simon turned down the invitation saying he felt uncomfortable going, the court heard earlier. The pair were long estranged but still legally married.

Simon’s parents Don and Gail, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, attended the lunch. All three were dead within days.

Heather’s husband Ian fell gravely ill but recovered.

The trial in Morwell, southeast of Melbourne, is expected to last another two weeks.

LOS ANGELES: As President Donald Trump’s military-backed crackdown on immigrants continues in Los Angeles and across the US, celebrities are speaking out against the tactics and what they say are the intolerant views driving them.
Some pointed to the gulf between Trump’s apocalyptic descriptions of a city in flames and the reality of a vast and diverse metropolis where largely peaceful protests are limited to a small part of downtown.
Here’s what the glitterati had to say:

Many celebrities touched on the disconnect between Trump’s claims about arresting dangerous criminals and raids that appear to be targeting day laborers and factory workers.
“When we’re told that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) exists to keep our country safe and remove violent criminals — great,” LA native and reality star Kim Kardashian wrote on social media.
“But when we witness innocent, hardworking people being ripped from their families in inhumane ways, we have to speak up.”
The billionaire behind Skims underwear added: “Growing up in LA, I’ve seen how deeply immigrants are woven into the fabric of this city. They are our neighbors, friends, classmates, coworkers and family.
“No matter where you fall politically, it’s clear that our communities thrive because of the contributions of immigrants.”
Singer Doechii echoed that sentiment in her acceptance speech for best female hip hop artist at the BET Awards on Sunday.
“There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order. Trump is using military forces to stop a protest,” the “Anxiety” singer said. “We all deserve to live in hope and not fear”

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel gave a blistering 12-minute monologue from his studio in the heart of Hollywood, opening with footage of tourists enjoying the nearby attractions and a movie premiere.
“Not only is it not an apocalypse, they’re having a Disney/Pixar movie premiere right now for ‘Elio’, a movie about aliens — don’t tell Trump, he’ll send the Green Berets in, too,” the comedian said.
There is something wrong, he said, with innocent people “being abducted — which is the correct word to use — by agents in masks, hiding their identities, grabbing people off the streets.”

Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician and producer Finneas, famous for collaborations with sister Billie Eilish and for work on the “Barbie” movie soundtrack, reported being caught up in a heavy-handed police response at a protest.
“Tear-gassed almost immediately at the very peaceful protest downtown — they’re inciting this,” the LA native wrote on Instagram.
“Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria, called the raids “un-American.”
“It’s just so inhumane, hard to watch, it’s hard, it’s hard to witness from afar, I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in Los Angeles right now,” she wrote on Instagram.
Longoria added that the protests were a result of “the lack of due process for law-abiding, tax-paying immigrants who have been a part of our community for a very long time.”