Memes and murals: Top 10 internet reactions to the Erin Patterson trial

Convicted killer Erin Patterson’s trial is over, but the trial by internet has just begun. From comedy skits to AI-generated nonsense, these are some of the top memes that have surfaced about the case.

It was the trial that gripped Australia and the world.

Two weeks ago, mushroom cook Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering three of her relatives — her estranged husband’s parents Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson — by serving them a beef wellington meal laced with death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha in July 2023.

She was also found guilty of attempting to kill Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson, a church pastor, who miraculously survived the deliberate mushroom poisoning scheme.

The world held its breath as a jury delivered its verdict on July 7 following nine weeks of court testimony and another week of deliberations.

What has followed since is a flood of online commentary, coverage, analysis and, in true Aussie-style, a trove of memes.

From comedy skits and murals to AI-generated nonsense, here are the top 10 memes and artworks that surfaced after the Erin Patterson trial.

10. ‘Killer’ beef wellington

Australian comedian Dave Woodhead perfectly illustrated the trial-induced anxiety of eating a home-cooked meal after hearing the details of Patterson’s mushroom lunch in his skit posted to Instagram.

“So you made the food?” he asks in the skit, pretending to have dinner at his friend’s house.

“What’s that burning sensation I’m feeling? It’s not poison is it?”

9. Giggly in prison

Triple M Perth host Katie Lamb threw on her orange for a skit on Patterson’s first day in prison.

“Do not let Erin take a shift in the kitchen,” she captioned it.

“It’s very crowded in here, I haven’t got mushroom,” she quips.

8. The new Jamie Oliver?

The rise of AI-generated content has come perfectly timed with the infatuation of the mushroom trial.

How about Patterson’s very own cookbook for your every mushroom need?

“Great book,” Memewhile in Australia posted to Facebook.

“Killer recipes,” one commenter wrote.

7. A succulent mushroom meal

The guilty verdict has breathed fresh life into the viral “succulent Chinese meal” meme.

The video shows Jack Karlson being arrested outside a Brisbane restaurant in 1991 when he was accused of credit card fraud.

He was filmed being put into the police car as he said: “"What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?”

The video went viral years later when it was uploaded online – and now it’s making the rounds again with Patterson’s face.

6. The rat did it

Comedian Kara Robinson had her own Disney-esque take on the verdict, filming herself dressed as Erin Patterson with a rat strapped to her head in a nod to film Rataouille.

“Erin Patterson will make one last attempt to clear her name at the Court of Appeal, her lawyer told the press earlier today,” the comedian wrote.

“After being found guilty of 3 counts of murder and 1 count of attempted murder, Patterson will claim that previously dismissed evidence will be revealed that Patterson was under the complete control of a rogue dumpster rat she befriended earlier that day.

“Rattus the Rat was said to have orchestrated the crime after watching the popular Disney film, Ratatouille, and realising that controlling human’s food had more purpose than just being able to make a mean spaghetti.”

5. Work it, Erin

Content creator Jeff van de Zandt pulled out all the stops with his recreation of pictures of Erin repeatedly posted by media outlets throughout her trial.

He even recreated the court sketch of her and the photos snapped while Erin was being shuttled in the back of a prison van.

“The real crime was not being camera ready,” the comedian wrote.

The media was limited to what photos and crops they could share of Patterson throughout her trial.

That tight crop of her looking over her shoulder? We couldn’t show you the full picture, because we was being escorted by officers in handcuffs, and that could be deemed prejudicial to the trial.

Plus, there were limited new images of Patterson as she had been kept in custody, and photos could not be taken in court.

4. Not a housewife anymore

Could it get anymore Aussie than this?

In another of his skits, Zandt dubs Kath’s famous line from the series Kath and Kim while pretending to be Erin watching news coverage of her trial.

“I’m not a housewife. I’m a hornbag.”

3. Elaine v Patterson

One creator took Elaine’s infamous performance in Seinfeld episode ‘The Soup Nazi’ to the next level by editing Patterson into the shot.

In the season seven episode, Elaine tracks down a legendary soup recipe to get her revenge on a chef after she is banned from his soup stand.

“Five cups chopped porcini mushrooms,” she starts.

“That is my recipe for wild mushroom,” the chef, overlaid with a picture of Patterson, replies.

2. Death cap. Literally

Crime page @itsaboutcrime posted an AI generated video depicting Erin Patterson holding a mushroom in what appeared to be a jail courtyard.

“Hey beef wellington lovers. Just showing off my new merch from jail,” the AI generated Erin Patterson says.

“My death cap. Get it?”

1. The Melbourne mural

Melbourne born and raised street artist Jarrod Grech, who goes by JGrech, didn’t realise his mural of Patterson would gain worldwide attention.

He immortalised the convicted killer on Kulinbulok Ln near the Vic Market at the height of the trial.

The painting references a moment from her breakdown in front of the media in the days after the mushroom lunch.

The mural of Erin Patterson painted by a street artist in Kulinbulok Ln. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

The mural was updated after the verdict dropped. Picture: Nadir Kinani

The artist returned to add a ‘guilty’ banner across the piece after the verdict was announced.

Originally published as Memes and murals: Top 10 internet reactions to the Erin Patterson trial