How true crime buff Erin Patterson became the lead in her own real life drama

Triple murderer Erin Patterson was a true crime fanatic who had a deep fascination and obsession with criminals, before becoming the main protagonist in her own real life drama.

Erin Patterson was a true crime fanatic who ultimately became the main protagonist in her own true crime drama.

The triple murderer had a deep fascination and obsession with criminals and cold cases.

She read true crime books and listened to true crime podcasts.

She further fed her appetite by joining Facebook forums where she could interact with other like-minded enthusiasts.

In 2019, she was a part of a group that focused its attention to one of Australia’s most notorious criminal cases, the disappearance and murder of baby Tegan Lane.

Triple murderer Erin Patterson was a true crime fanatic. Picture: Martin Keep/AFP

Patterson, along with 2000 other fanatics, discussed the murder trial of Keli Lane in-depth after a documentary aired.

In the group, Patterson was known as a “super-sleuth”, always finding new updates on the case and sharing it with others.

And when her own case erupted in the news, many Facebook groups sprung up which were eerily similar to the ones Patterson championed.

Keli Lane was convicted of murdering her newborn baby Tegan.

“Erin Patterson: The mushroom massacre case discussion” and “Keep Erin Patterson behind bars - alleged mushroom mass murderer” were just some of the most popular.

Over the 10-week trial, dozens of brazen opinions were shared.

“I’ve already concluded she’s going to be found guilty,” one user wrote during week four of the proceedings.

“Some of this stuff is beyond belief … it’s almost like she’s written a script for a murder movie and now keen to see how it plays out,” another said.

“I just think she is evil to the bone”, “cold, calculating killer”, “scorned, salty and vindictive woman” and “a danger to society” were others.

People lining up outside Latrove Valley Law Courts for Erin Patterson's murder trial. Picture: David Crosling

Some enthusiasts took their dedication to another level, travelling hours to country Victoria to catch a glimpse of the mushroom cook in the flesh.

Scoring a seat at Patterson’s murder trial wasn’t easy, with some describing it as “the hunger games for true crime fanatics”.

Limited capacity and soaring intrigue created long queues outside the courtroom, in particular when the murderermade the bombshell move to give evidence.

John White travelled from Penrith, NSW, to attend the highly-anticipated trial.

John White took sketches of the courtroom while attending the trial. Picture: Brooke Grebert-Craig

“Part of me couldn’t believe that I was actually in the court for the first couple of days,” he said.

“I thought it was really fascinating to be part of the court process … it was a once in a lifetime sort of thing.”

For Tammy Egglestone, travelling more than an hour to Morwell became part of her daily routine.

“I’m a fanatic, I follow a lot of big crimes,” she said.

Tammy Egglestone scored a seat in the courtroom most days of the trial. Picture: Brooke Grebert-Craig

Just like the many Facebook groups, several podcasts were created around Patterson’s trial.

Podcasts the killer would have devoured if she was not the centre of them.

In fact, her favourites were Counting to Capture, Crimetown, Culpable and Crime Junkie.

“If you ever want to be freaked out at night listen to the podcast True Crime Bullshit. All about Israel Keyes,” Patterson wrote in a message to an online friend.

“He was the ultimate serial killer … He only got caught because he made the mistake of using a victim’s ATM card and was caught on CCTV.

“He killed at least twelve but they only found one body before he killed himself in jail.”