What we know so far about the Erin Patterson mushroom lunch trial

Erin Patterson hosted a lunch at her home in the Victorian town of Leongatha in July 2023. She invited her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson.

Her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was invited but did not attend the lunch.

Erin Patterson.Credit: Jason South

Patterson served beef Wellington and within hours of eating together, the four guests became unwell. Don, Gail and Heather died in hospital after consuming what prosecutors allege were death cap mushrooms. Ian survived after spending several weeks in an induced coma.

Patterson, 50, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Don, Gail and Heather, and the attempted murder of Ian over the fatal lunch.

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale is presiding over the trial in Morwell, a town in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, and has been set down for five to six weeks. This is what we have heard so far during the trial:

WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY EIGHT OF MUSHROOM TRIAL

• A doctor who was working at Leongatha Hospital when Erin Patterson arrived seeking treatment for suspected gastro symptoms, said Erin asked after her lunch guests who had been hospitalised.
• Leongatha Hospital nurse Kylie Ashton told the jury she took Erin’s vital signs. She recalled that Erin had said she was adamant she couldn’t stay there and left – against medical advice – about five minutes later. Ashton said she told Erin her “life was at risk”.
• Senior Constable Adrian Martinez-Villalobos said he received a callout to do a welfare check on Erin at her home. After arriving, Martinez-Villalobos discovered Erin had returned to the hospital.
• During a phone call, Dr Christopher Webster asked Martinez-Villalobos if he could find any leftovers from the beef Wellington meal at the house. The officer said he found the leftovers at the bottom of one of the outdoor bins Erin had suggested to him, in “a brown paper Woolworths bag”. There were about 1½ beef Wellingtons inside. He then took the bagged leftovers to the hospital and handed them to staff.
• Dr Conor McDermott was working as a toxicology registrar at the Austin Hospital on July 31, 2023. The doctor said he initially thought there may have been a wider public health issue occurring with the mushrooms possibly being sold at a commercial level, so he sought information from Erin over the phone about the lunch.
• He told the court that Erin “said that they had been ... button mushrooms in ... packaging from Leongatha Safeway”. He said he was also told she had been to a Chinese food store in Oakleigh
• McDermott said he went on to do a Google search for Chinese food stores in the Oakleigh area and offered to read the names out to Erin in an attempt to track down the seller. “She said she would not be able to remember,” McDermott said.
• In video evidence played to the court, Erin’s primary school-aged daughter said her mother had dropped her and her brother in town so that she could host the fatal mushroom lunch, telling them she wanted to have an adult conversation with other family members.
• The daughter said the family stayed home the day after the lunch and did not go to church because her mother was feeling too sick. They then ate leftovers from the lunch – steak, green beans and mashed potatoes – which the child said her mother also ate. She said her mother had still been using the toilet a lot before they all went to bed.
• Read a full recap of day eight of the case here.

Dr Veronica FooteCredit: Jason South

WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY SEVEN OF MUSHROOM TRIAL

• A statement from church member Angela Child read to the court said she had seen Ian and Heather Wilkinson soon after the lunch and that the pair had raved about the beef Wellington prepared by Erin Patterson, describing it as delicious and beautiful.
• Matthew Patterson, the son of Don and Gail Patterson and brother of Simon Patterson, told the court he had called Erin two days after the lunch to ask her about the source of the mushrooms. “She mentioned they were fresh mushrooms from Woolies and dried mushrooms from a Chinese grocer or supermarket,” he said.
• A statement by a health department official said no cancer diagnosis had been registered for Erin. This conflicted with testimony given in court on Tuesday by Ian Wilkinson that Erin had told her guests at the lunch that she had cancer.
• Dr Chris Webster told the jury that when Erin arrived at Leongatha Hospital reporting gastro symptoms, he told her she would require treatment. However, she discharged herself, against medical advice, and left the urgent care centre. “I was surprised,” he said. “I had just informed her that she had been potentially exposed to deadly death cap poison.”
• Webster said he also urged Erin to get her children checked. “Erin was reluctant to inform the children. I said it was important. She was concerned that they were going to be frightened,” he told the court.
• When asked about the source of the mushrooms, Webster said Erin gave him a short response. “Single word answer: ‘Woolworths’,” Webster told the jury. “I said there’s a concern from Dandenong Hospital of death cap mushroom poisoning.“

Dr Chris Webster.Credit: Jason South

WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY SIX OF MUSHROOM TRIAL

• Darren Fox, whose store Hartley Wells Betta Home Living in Leongatha sells appliances, told the court that in November 2023, an employee told him she had sold a dehydrator to Erin Patterson.
• Ian Wilkinson, the lone survivor among the four guests who fell ill after the fatal lunch, was called to the witness box.
• Ian described his relationship with Erin as friendly and amicable, he said she “seemed like a normal person”.
• Ian told the court he and his wife, Heather, were excited about being invited to the fatal lunch and thought their relationship with Erin might improve as a result.
• Turning to the lunch, the jury heard that Heather and Gail offered to help Erin plate the food, but she rejected the offer and did it all herself at the bench. Ian said there were four large, grey dinner plates – and one smaller plate in a different colour, which Erin ate from.
• Ian recounted that after the group finished eating, Erin told them she had cancer and was very concerned. The group then prayed for Erin and her children.
• Ian and his wife Heather fell sick the evening of the lunch. “It continued right through the night. We had vomiting and diarrhoea,” he said.
• Beth Morgan, a registered doctor and an advanced infectious diseases trainee at Monash Health, was the last witness to give evidence on day six.
• Morgan recounted being told by a pharmacist that there wasn’t enough antidote for four patients, but said they would obtain it from another hospital.

Ian Wilkinson arrives at court.Credit: Jason South

WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY FIVE OF MUSHROOM TRIAL

• During his final day in the stand, Simon Patterson denied he accused Erin Patterson of poisoning at the hospital following the fatal meal.
• Simon also told the court he was puzzled by the beef Wellington lunch invitation.
• The jury was also shown messages between the pair, including some that Simon had described as inflammatory and extremely aggressive.
• The court heard from three online friends of Erin Patterson, Christine Hunt, Daniela Barkley and Jenny Hay - who knew her through a true crime Facebook group.
• One of the witnesses said Erin described Simon as “controlling” and “coercive” on several occasions.
• The court also heard that Erin told her online friends she was “hiding powdered mushrooms in everything”.

Simon Patterson outside court.Credit: Jason South

WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY FOUR OF MUSHROOM TRIAL

• Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson returned to the stand on Friday morning to continue his testimony inside room 4 of the Morwell courthouse, where he was cross-examined by Erin’s defence lawyer, Colin Mandy, SC.
• When asked by Erin’s lawyer about her medical history, Simon said she had “struggled” with health issues over the years, including a heart arrhythmia, as well as postnatal depression after the birth of her first child.
• Erin’s lawyer asked Simon about his discussions with his estranged wife after the deadly beef Wellington lunch, and about her discharging herself from Leongatha Hospital. “Erin hates hospitals,” Simon said, adding she had a history of discharging herself against medical advice.
• The court heard that a misunderstanding about a “missing” invitation to his mother Gail’s 70th birthday had sparked a rift in the family, and that in a message exchange Erin said she had felt “very hurt” about not being included.
• The defence lawyer asked Simon about several other tense exchange between him and Erin, including one during which he said she was being “extremely aggressive” in messages she had sent to his parents Don and Gail in a family group chat.

Defence counsel Colin Mandy, SC.Credit: Jason South

WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY THREE OF MUSHROOM TRIAL

• The first witness for the prosecution, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson, was called to the stand. He discussed his marriage to Erin and said they separated in 2015 for the final time.
• Simon said they tried to remain amicable, but in 2022 a tax mistake altered their dynamic.
• Text messages between Simon and Erin in the lead-up to the fatal family lunch were shown in court. When Simon said he would no longer attend the lunch, Erin replied: “I’ve spent a small fortune on beef eye fillet.”
• Simon described his movements on the day after the fatal lunch, including his visit to Ian and Heather Wilkinson. Speaking through tears, he said his father, Don, was struggling, lying on his side, unwell in a hospital bed.
• Simon told the jury that Erin told him she had previously dehydrated mushrooms and mixed different amounts of fungi in a batch of muffins for their daughter.
• Recap the entire second day of the case here.

WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY TWO OF MUSHROOM TRIAL

• The court heard signs of death cap mushrooms were discovered in the beef Wellington leftovers found in Patterson’s bin.
• The court heard that after Heather Wilkinson became sick she wondered aloud to Simon about why Patterson had served her guests with different coloured plates to the one she used herself.
• Patterson admitted to foraging for mushrooms, lying about having cancer and getting rid of a food dehydrator in a panic.
• The jury were asked to consider what impact public scrutiny had on the accused. “Is it possible that a person might lie when they find out that people are seriously ill because of the food that they’ve served up?” Patterson’s defence counsel asked the court in his opening address.
• Recap the entire first day of the case here.