Alleged mushroom murderer Erin Patterson has opted to have her case “fast-tracked” after pleading “not guilty” to all 8 charges yesterday. It means she will skip a committal hearing in the magistrates court – where police evidence would have been formally tested prior to a trial – and instead go straight to the Supreme Court in Melbourne on 23 May. Magistrate Tim Walsh said police had compiled “an extremely voluminous” brief of evidence. Patterson is facing 3 counts of murder and 5 counts of attempted murder over the alleged poisonings of her family members on multiple occasions. The decision to go to Melbourne marks a shift in Patterson’s legal strategy as she had previously wanted the case to stay close to her home in Leongatha in regional Victoria. No reason has been given for the change and Patterson remains in custody.