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A woman in Australia is accused of killing her estranged husband’s relatives, though her defense said it was all a “terrible accident.”
On July 29, 2023, Erin Patterson, 50, who had separated from her husband, Simon Patterson, hosted an adults-only lunch to discuss medical issues with his family, as stated by prosecutors, according to the BBC. The gathering included Mr. Patterson’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, both aged 70, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66. Tragically, they passed away days after eating Beef Wellingtons that Erin had prepared at her Victoria residence.
Heather Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, 71, fell ill but survived after weeks of medical treatment.
The trial began on April 29, 2025 in a Morwell courthouse, according to NBC News, and is still underway.
Who is Erin Patterson?
Erin Patterson is an Australian mother of two facing three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, according to The Guardian.
Residing in Leongatha, roughly 85 miles from Melbourne, Erin had reportedly been involved in foraging wild mushrooms as a hobby for several years, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She also expanded her collection efforts to include edible fungi from the Korumburra Botanic Gardens.
In court, Mrs. Patterson explained that she routinely brought these mushrooms home, using a food dehydrator to preserve them for future culinary use. She testified that she often combined the foraged mushrooms with those she bought from the store, as reported by the BBC.
Erin Patterson is an Australian mother of two facing three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, according to The Guardian.
She lived in Leongatha, about 85 miles southeast of Melbourne, where she reportedly foraged wild mushrooms as part of a years-long hobby, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She also began collecting edible fungi from the Korumburra Botanic Gardens.
Mrs. Patterson told the court she regularly brought the mushrooms back home and processed them in a food dehydrator, preserving them to use in dishes throughout the year. She said in court that she frequently mixed wild mushrooms with those purchased from the store, according to the BBC.
How medical concerns led to a fateful lunch
By July 29, 2023, Erin Patterson’s marriage to Simon Patterson had deteriorated, according to NBC News. There existed disagreements between them over child support and the kids’ schooling, and the in-laws reportedly acted as mediators between the two parties, which was why she invited them to her Leongatha home for a sit-down.
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers said Erin Patterson acted under the pretense of a recent ovarian cancer diagnosis and wished to discuss how to break the news to the estranged couple’s children, according to Reuters.
Erin Patterson reportedly dropped off her children, ages 9 and 14, for a movie outing with one of their friends before the lunch took place, according to NPR.
In court, Erin Patterson said she did not have cancer, although there was a family history of the diagnosis, according to the BBC. Having “lost so much faith in the medical system,” she frequently Googled medical symptoms — such as headaches and fatigue — and feared having undiagnosed issues such as brain tumors and multiple sclerosis, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“I think I wasted a lot of time, not just my time, but medical people’s time, through all my doctor Googling,” Erin Patterson told the court.
For the fateful lunch date, Erin Patterson admitted in court that she indeed used the poisonous mushrooms in the Beef Wellington meal but denied having any knowledge they were toxic.
All four victims were admitted to the hospital one day after the lunch for gastro-like symptoms, according to The Guardian.
The exact origins of the mushrooms in question remain unclear, whether from foraging or an Asian market in Melbourne. The defendant described ones purchased from the city grocer as being “very pungent,” according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
What are death cap mushrooms?
Amanita phalloides, better known as death cap mushrooms, are a deadly fungus that accounts for 90 percent of mushroom-related deaths, according to National Geographic. Indigenous to the United Kingdom and Ireland, they have been sporadically introduced to areas such as North America and Australia.
Plant pathologist Milton Drott of the U.S. Department of Agriculture told the magazine that although death cap mushrooms are relatively safe to the touch, consuming the fungi’s amatoxins prevents the body from creating protein, thus causing liver and kidney failure.
An onset of symptoms of death cap mushroom poisoning, beginning eight to 12 hours after consumption, can include low blood pressure, vomiting, and nausea, according to the British Columbia Poison Control Centre. Symptoms often appear to disappear — sometimes for up to 72 hours — before organ failure begins, killing the victim three to six days after ingestion.
Mushroom poisonings, including those outside the death cap mushroom, are estimated to cause 100,000 cases of illness and 100 deaths worldwide, according to NPR. Typically, they are unintentional.
Who were the victims?
Gail Patterson
Erin Patterson’s mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, lived in Korumburra with her husband of 50 years, Don Patterson. At the time of the poisoning, she was recovering from health issues, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
She died six days after the lunch, on August 4, 2023, after multiple organs shut down due to altered liver function, a direct result of the toxic mushrooms.
Don Patterson
Erin Patterson’s father-in-law, Donald “Don” Patterson, was a former high school teacher who retired in 2000, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He died one day after his wife and in the same manner.
The couple left behind four adult children.
Heather Wilkinson
Heather Wilkinson was a mother of four and the younger sister of Gail Patterson, per the Australian outlet. The teacher’s aide reportedly remarked that Erin Patterson’s meal was served on a different-colored plate than the others, her husband would later tell the court.
Mrs. Wilkinson died in the early morning hours of August 4, 2023.
Ian Wilkinson
Heather Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, has served as a pastor for Korumburra Baptist Church since 1999 and survived the deadly lunch. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he told the court he and his wife were excited by the unexpected invite.
According to The Guardian, the widower spent five weeks in intensive care and retained little memory of his time there.
Erin Patterson was charged with trying to kill her estranged husband — but the charges were dropped
Erin Patterson was charged with attempting to murder Simon Patterson at the lunch, though the charges were eventually dropped at the start of trial, according to The Guardian. She initially invited her husband, who lived away from home, though he declined.
In response to Erin Patterson’s invitation, Simon Patterson texted the following:
Sorry, I feel too uncomfortable about coming to the lunch with you, Mum, Dad, Heather, and Ian tomorrow but I’m happy to talk about your health and implications of that at another time. If you’d like to discuss on the phone, just let me know.
Erin Patterson replied:
That’s really disappointing. I’ve spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow, which has been exhausting in light of the issues I’m facing, and spent a small fortune on beef eye fillet to make Beef Wellingtons because I wanted it to be a special meal, as I may not be able to host a lunch like this again for some time. It’s important to me that you’re all there tomorrow and that I can have the conversations that I need to have. I hope you’ll change your mind. Your parents and Heather and Ian are coming at 12:30. I hope to see you there.
Erin Patterson’s alleged motive still unclear
Prosecutors in Australia decided to move ahead with the trial despite being unclear about Erin Patterson’s alleged motive.
In her opening statements, as reported by Reuters, prosecutor Nanette Rogers said, “The prosecution will not be suggesting that there was a particular motive to do what she did.”
Barrister Colin Mandy, defending Erin Patterson in court, said the event was a “terrible accident.”
If found guilty, Erin Patterson faces life behind bars.
