The trial of Erin Patterson, a 50-year-old Australian woman, kicked off this week nearly a year after she pleaded not guilty to allegations of providing deadly mushrooms to her ex-husband’s family. The charges against her include three counts of murder and one attempt at murder. Interestingly, just days before the trial, the charge involving her husband was dropped.
Patterson appeared in Victoria’s Supreme Court on Wednesday. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers laid out the case, detailing how Patterson served a meal of beef wellington, mashed potatoes, and green beans at her home in Leongarta on July 29, 2023. At the gathering were her in-laws, Gale and Don Patterson, both 70, along with Gale’s sister Heather, 66, and her husband Ian, 68. Strangely, Erin’s husband, Simon, though invited, was absent.
The day following the lunch, all four guests were hospitalized for mushroom poisoning, specifically from the highly toxic death cap mushrooms, which had made their way onto their plates. Ian Wilkinson ended up spending seven weeks in the hospital, while the other three victims sadly passed away just days later.
Before the trial began, prosecutors clarified that the charges against Patterson had shifted, particularly one involving an alleged attempted murder of her husband, from whom she had been separated since 2015.
The lunch invitation had come about two weeks prior, coinciding with her attendance at a church service. Interestingly, Ian Wilkinson, a pastor, was part of that service, and the lunch was pitched as a chance for the family to discuss her medical issues and how to communicate them to her children—who, by the way, weren’t present at lunch.
It caught the Wilkinsons off guard that they had never been invited to Patterson’s home before. After the gathering, Simon expressed confusion, noting that Erin had eaten off a different plate compared to her guests.
Heather later mentioned to prosecutors that she had noticed Erin’s plates were unusually colorful, which struck her as odd. Simon suggested it might have just been a matter of running out of dishes.
The next day, Aaron, still feeling the aftermath of the meal, went to the hospital with symptoms like nausea and diarrhea, soon realizing, of course, that his guests were dealing with a more severe situation. Erin later claimed that she had not used any wild mushrooms but purchased them from a supermarket and an Asian grocery store, though her lawyer admitted she had indeed foraged for mushrooms.
As it stands, Patterson’s trial has been postponed until Thursday and is expected to unfold over the next six weeks.
