Doctor reveals moments about mushroom case that will haunt him ‘forever’

The doctor who first alerted police to triple murderer Erin Patterson has revealed the moments of the investigation he can’t get out of his mind – and how the killer stared “daggers” at him as he gave evidence.

The doctor who first alerted police to triple murderer Erin Patterson has revealed the bombshell moment he realised the killer was a “disturbed sociopathic nut bag”.

Chris Webster, who was an on-call doctor at Leongatha Hospital in the days after the lunch, was a key witness in Patterson’s high-profile murder trial.

Speaking candidly to the Herald Sun after testifying, Dr Webster said he knew the mother of two was a cold and calculated murderer when she told him the mushrooms in the beef wellington meal were from Woolworths.

Dr Chris Webster. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Murderous intent

Dr Webster said he suspected a deliberate poisoning when Heather and Ian arrived at Leongatha Hospital the day after the lunch.

During this time, he had also received a “shocking” phone call from Dr Beth Morgan who was treating Don and Gail at Dandenong Hospital.

“She informed me that they both had grossly abnormal liver function tests and they were concerned about the possibility of death cap mushroom poisoning,” he said.

When Patterson presented to hospital on July 31, Dr Webster said he immediately asked her where she got the mushrooms from.

“It was a single-word response. Woolworths,” he said.

Dr Webster was on-call at Leongatha Hospital the day after the deadly lunch.

It was at this moment, he knew she was a heinous triple murderer.

“If she said she picked them, it would have been a very different mindset for me because there would have been an instant assumption it was all a tragic accident,” he said.

“But once she said that answer, my thoughts were, ‘holy f**king shit, you f**king did it, you crazy bitch, you poisoned them all’.

“The turning point for me was that moment.”

Dr Webster said Patterson was a “disturbed sociopathic nut bag”.

“She wasn’t freaking out about the safety of her children,” he said.

“Looking into her eyes, I thought ‘I don’t know what planet you’re on but you’re not on earth.

“If it was an Agatha Christie novel, this is how one of her characters would have done it.”

Dr Webster said he knew his actions from then on would be very “very closely scrutinised” including when he called triple-0 after Patterson fled the hospital within five minutes of being there.

“She behaved so strangely after being told that you’ve been exposed to a potentially fatal toxin,” he said.

Erin Patterson outside her Leongatha h Picture: Brooke Grebert-Craig.

Hospital regrets

Dr Webster said it was a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to be a witness in a high-profile murder trial but it didn’t come without regrets.

He said he wished he probed Heather more after she told him the reason for the lunch was not for a birthday celebration.

“She didn’t elaborate and I will never forgive myself for not asking further questions because I realised later that I had hit upon something,” he said.

“If I had my time again I’d be asking more about the mushrooms. It seems ridiculous because now we know the whole story.

“Every fibre of Sherlock Holmes detective part of my doctoring wanted to keep exploring … but part of me thinks if I got onto the fact it was death cap mushrooms earlier I would not have had that interaction with Erin.”

Ian Wilkinson and his wife Heather.

Haunting moments

Dr Webster said his last moments with Heather will “haunt” him forever.

“What was lost in the trial was just how humble and decent these people were,” he said.

“A lot of people that come into urgent care are quite aggressive and hostile when you’re trying to help them but the victims weren’t.

“When Heather was being pushed into the back of an ambulance, just before the door closed, she said ‘thank you Dr Webster for all your care’.

“The look on her face, the sincerity of her gratitude and the door closing on her, it was a bit like the final scene in the Godfather. That will haunt me forever.”

Dr Chris Webster's triple-0 call sparked the police investigation into Erin Patterson.

Dirty looks

Dr Webster said when he testified against Patterson, she gave him the “stinkiest stink eye”.

“I looked over and searing daggers shot out of her eyes and went into my brain,” he said.

“There was a lot of anger and hostility in her. There was a severe level of disturbance for normal human behaviour and personality.”

He said she lied in her evidence when she said he did not ask her where she got the mushrooms from.

“It was bullshit,” he said.

Despite being a critical witness in the trial, Dr Webster said there was hostility thrown towards him by his peers.

“It’s a story that’s had such incredible public intrigue but it’s been quite a difficult work environment to talk about it in,” he said.

“When I did I got dirty looks and snide comments … we’re trying to pretend this is not a global story.

“People broke into factions and there were definitely a lot of shutdowns of any conversation.”

Erin Patterson at the Supreme Court. Picture: David Crosling

Killer plans

Despite the prosecution saying there was no “particular motive” behind the murders, Dr Webster said he believed Patterson was blinded by a fantasy lifestyle.

“I think the reason she did something so extreme is because she couldn’t see any other way to have life the way she wanted it without these people being out of the picture,” he said,

“I think once she got on the train track that led to the destination, there was no ability for her to get off.”

Dr Webster said he believed the way Patterson planned her lunch guests’ deaths acted like an “antidepressant” for her.

“She’s obviously intelligent and a capable individual. I would say that the planning, the strategising and foraging gave her a sense of calm,” he said.

“It probably acted a bit like her antidepressant and each time she did something it brought her closer to the life that was free of these people that were so ‘bad’ to her.”