Key Insights into Erin Patterson and the Ongoing 'Mushroom Murder' Trial

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As the fourth week of the ‘mushroom murder’ trial draws to a close in regional Victoria, the Supreme Court jury has listened to testimony from prosecutors, experts, and members of the family connected to the case’s central figure.

Erin Patterson faces charges of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.

She stands accused of deliberately poisoning her estranged husband Simon Patterson’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail’s sister and Simon’s aunt, Heather Wilkinson, 66, by serving them a poisonous beef Wellington.

Patterson has entered a plea of not guilty, asserting that she did not have the intention to poison her guests.

As the high-profile case reaches the four-week mark, here’s a summary of key developments you may have missed.

What is the mushroom murder case about?

On 29 July 2023, Patterson cooked a beef Wellington for lunch with her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, her mother-in-law’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and Wilkinson’s husband, Ian.

She served beef Wellington to her guests, which consisted of steak covered in mushroom paste, wrapped in pastry.

Close up of a person wearing blue gloves holding mushrooms.

Erin Patterson is accused of lacing a beef Wellington with death cap mushrooms. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett

The following day, all four guests were taken to the hospital, with Heather, Gail and Don dying over the following days. Ian Wilkinson survived.

In November 2023, Patterson was formally charged with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. She also faced charges of three additional counts of attempted murder of her estranged husband, but these were dismissed prior to the commencement of the trial.

Mushroom expert quizzed

Toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos was quizzed about death cap mushrooms as part of the trial, and said multiple factors can affect whether toxins inside death cap mushrooms kill those who consume them.

Gerostamoulos said a person’s age, weight, their tolerance to the mushroom’s poison and the amount they consume can all play a part.

David Lovelock, diagnostics manager at Plant Health Victoria, also gave evidence, and said he found no sign of death cap mushrooms when examining the remains of the meal.

But he said he did find death cap mushrooms inside a food dehydrator, which had been seized by police.

Another scientist, Camille Truong, also found no sign of death caps in the meal when examining it under a microscope.

However, Gerostamoulos told the jury on Thursday he found death cap mushroom toxins inside the meal’s remains when he performed chemical testing.

Angry messages and device resets

This week, prosecutors presented evidence allegedly found on phones, tablets and other devices seized from Patterson’s home.

This included messages prosecutors allege she sent to her friends via Facebook Messenger about seven months before the fatal lunch.

“This family, I swear to f—ing god,” said one message sent on 6 December 2022.

Another message the following day said: “I’m sick of this s—, I want nothing to do with them.”

The messages followed attempts by Don and Gail Patterson to help resolve a child support dispute between Patterson and her estranged husband, Simon.

In another message, Patterson allegedly said she did not want to read messages sent from her husband or his parents, claiming her husband’s messages would be “horrible, gaslighting and abusive”, and his parents’ would be “more weasel words”.

Victoria Police digital forensics officer Shamen Fox-Henry’s report also showed four factory resets had been carried out on Patterson’s mobile phone in 2023, including a remote wipe the day after she handed the device to police.

Photos taken of mushrooms in May 2023, including some inside a food dehydrator, were found on a tablet seized by police and also shown to the jury.

Defence says accused ‘panicked’ after lunch

The prosecution has alleged Patterson lied about buying mushrooms from an Asian grocer and disposing of a food dehydrator, and said she had lied about becoming sick after the lunch.

Defence barrister Colin Mandy said Patterson had “panicked” after the lunch.

He said Patterson admitted she got rid of the dehydrator and “that makes her look guilty” and then lied about getting rid of it.

She also admitted she lied to police about foraging for mushrooms, but denied she had deliberately “sought out death cap mushrooms”, he said.

He said the prosecution would not be able to prove Patterson had intentionally poisoned her guests.

Estranged husband’s evidence in court

Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, had been invited to the lunch on 29 July, but declined via text message because he felt “uncomfortable”.

“That’s really disappointing, I’ve spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow,” Erin Patterson replied within five minutes.

“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.”

He did not reply and was not at the lunch

Simon Patterson, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband, did not attend the lunch. Source: AAP / Diego Fedele

Simon Patterson gave evidence in Latrobe Valley Law Court, and said his father had called him on 30 July and had told him he and his mother were going to hospital due to vomiting and diarrhoea.

Patterson said he then went to the Wilkinsons’ home where he found Ian looking sick, “grey and struggling” while Heather was inside looking “pretty crook” on the couch.

Patterson said he later spoke to his estranged wife, who said she had also been suffering from diarrhoea.

He said the former couple had remained friendly since separating in 2015, but began to break down in November 2022 after she asked him to start paying child support. By December 2022, he said Patterson was sending “inflammatory messages” to Don and Gail Patterson in their family Signal chat.

During a recorded police interview presented to the court, the Pattersons’ 14-year-old son characterized the relationship between his parents as “very negative”.

Did Erin Patterson eat the beef Wellington?

Patterson claims she ate the same meal as her guests.

The day after the lunch, Patterson complained of diarrhoea and abdominal pain. She went to hospital but declined a full examination and treatment, and discharged herself against medical advice.

Prosecutors alleged she feigned illness after eating her portion of the lunch, and served her visitors’ meals on large plates that were different to her smaller one.

“I noticed that Erin put her food on a different plate to us, her plate had colours on it, I wondered why that was,” Wilkinson allegedly said before her death.

The trial will continue on Monday.

— With the Australian Associated Press.