A Grim Verdict Looms in the Erin Patterson Mushroom Trial
After nine weeks of harrowing courtroom drama, the jury in the mushroom trial involving Erin Patterson has begun deliberations. The case centres on the deaths of three family members and the attempted murder of a fourth after a lunch allegedly laced with lethal death cap mushrooms. Patterson, 50, from Leongatha in Victoria’s South Gippsland, stands accused of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder, charges she denies.
Erin Patterson was captured in a photograph taken in Melbourne, Australia, on April 15, 2025. [Credit: James Ross/AAP via AP]
The Fatal Lunch
On July 29, 2023, Erin Patterson hosted a lunch for her estranged in-laws — Don and Gail Patterson — and Gail’s sister and brother-in-law, Heather and Ian Wilkinson. Don, Gail, and Heather died in the days following the meal, while Ian spent weeks in hospital and survived. Erin’s estranged husband Simon Patterson had also been invited but did not attend.
The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned the beef Wellington served that day using death cap mushrooms (scroll down for the image). Patterson insists she mistakenly used foraged mushrooms that she had stored in her pantry. She claims she mixed these with dried mushrooms she bought from an Asian grocer in Melbourne.
Ian and Heather Wilkinson, pictured. [Source: The Salvation Army Australia – Museum]
Underlying Family Tensions
While prosecutors have not presented a specific motive, they outlined rising tensions between Erin and the Patterson family, particularly over financial disputes concerning her children’s education and healthcare. In one series of Facebook messages, Patterson expressed frustration at her in-laws’ refusal to intervene in her disputes with Simon.
Though she admitted to using “disrespectful language” in those messages, Patterson claimed her relationship with her in-laws was mostly positive. She said she had invited them to lunch to rebuild that relationship.
Her lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, argued that the prosecution had distorted reality by focusing on a brief episode of family tension and failed to capture the full context of their interactions.
The family tree. [Credit: ABC News/Gabrielle Flood]
The Mushroom Evidence
Patterson testified that she developed an interest in foraging mushrooms during Victoria’s COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. She believed she had learned enough to identify safe mushrooms and claimed to have tasted them without falling ill.
Her defence pointed to a website called iNaturalist, where she previously checked for sightings of death caps and found none in South Gippsland at the time. The prosecution, however, used mobile phone data to argue she visited locations like Loch and Outtrim soon after users reported sightings of death caps there.
Her team disputed the accuracy of this data and maintained she had only foraged locally, near the Korumburra Botanic Gardens.
Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the Death Cap, is an extremely toxic mushroom that typically grows beneath oak trees in gardens and parklands. [Credit: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria]
The Grocer Mushrooms and the Dehydrator
Patterson said she purchased dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer in Melbourne’s south-east and stored them in a container that later got mixed with her foraged mushrooms. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact store to health officials, citing suburbs like Clayton, Oakleigh, and Mount Waverley. However, officials failed to trace any mushrooms that matched her description.
Patterson also told the court she used a food dehydrator for mushrooms and later dumped it at the local tip, claiming she panicked after learning the death cap was the suspected cause of poisoning. She denied deliberately drying toxic mushrooms.
The Plates and the Illness
One key point of contention in the mushroom trial is who received which plates. Erin claimed she did not allocate plates, but Ian Wilkinson, the surviving guest, stated the others ate from grey plates while Erin used a smaller orange plate. This, the prosecution argued, suggested she ensured only the guests consumed the poisoned food.
Erin also claimed she became ill after the lunch, vomiting after binge-eating cake. However, doctors said she didn’t exhibit the same poisoning markers as the others. The prosecution accused her of faking symptoms to support her cover story.
She admitted she lied to her guests about having cancer, explaining she wanted to conceal plans for gastric-bypass surgery. “I was really embarrassed,” she told the court. “I didn’t want to tell anybody, but I shouldn’t have lied to them.”
The Police Investigation
On August 5, police searched Patterson’s home and seized her phone. The court heard she reset the device three times — once during the search and twice after, including remotely while the phone was in police custody. Erin said she panicked, worried police would see photos of mushrooms and the dehydrator. “It was really stupid,” she said.
Police later charged Erin Patterson with murder and attempted murder in November 2023 after months of investigation.
The image shows detectives carrying out a search at Erin Patterson’s property in November 2023. [Photo: AP]
Jury Deliberation Begins
The jury began its deliberations at Morwell courthouse with 12 remaining members after two were balloted off. Justice Christopher Beale instructed them to reach a unanimous verdict on all four charges.
“You are the only ones in this court who can make a decision about these facts,” Justice Beale said, adding that while they may have different reasons for their decisions, the outcome must be unanimous.
As deliberations proceed, Erin Patterson’s Leongatha home has been shielded with privacy tarps in case she is acquitted and chooses to return. The nation now awaits the jury’s decision in what has become one of Australia’s most high-profile criminal trials.
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Final Thoughts
The mushroom trial of Erin Patterson has captivated and disturbed the public in equal measure. With lives lost, families shattered, and a community on edge, the stakes could not be higher. Whether Patterson is found guilty or acquitted, the shadow of this tragedy will loom long over Leongatha — and the country.
